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Libellula pulchella
Twelve-Spotted Skimmer
Family: Libellulidae
Species account author: Robert Cannings.
Extracted from Introducing the Dragonflies of British Columbia and the Yukon (2002)
Introduction to the Odonata of BC
The Families of Odonata of BC


Photograph

© Jeremy Gatten     (Photo ID #11688)

Map

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Distribution of Libellula pulchella in British Columbia.
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Source: (for the static map) RBCM and BCCDC 2004 ©

Species Information


Description

Dark patches at the tip, middle and base of each wing give this species its English name; mature males have white patches between the dark ones and at the bases of hindwings. The body coloration is similar to the Eight-spotted Skimmer’s, but the dark wing tips distinguish the Twelve-spotted. Females can be confused with Common Whitetail females where their ranges overlap, but the Twelve-spotted Skimmer is larger and its yellow abdominal stripes are narrower and more continuous. Length: ♂ 51 mm, ♀ 48 mm.


Flight Period

B.C., late May to mid September.

Genus Description


Three striking king skimmers live in B.C.; two others have recently been moved to other genera – Ladona and Plathemis. Many species have banded or spotted wings, and in some species, males sport abdomens covered with white or bluish pruinescence. Showy and aggressive, king skimmers perch, hover and skim over the waters of ponds, lakeshores and sluggish streams. During egg laying, a female taps the water with the end of her abdomen; she flies alone or is guarded by her mate hovering nearby. Females of most species have small flaps on the sides of segment 8 that help them splash water along with their eggs, often depositing them on the shore.

Biology

Family Description

The largest dragonfly family in our region – 24 species in eight genera live here and one other species in another genus is a rare visitor. They come in many sizes and colours, many with bold wing markings or coloured veins. Their eyes meet broadly on top of the head. The anal loop in the hindwing is distinctive: foot-shaped with a long toe. Most common around ponds, marshy lakeshores and sluggish streams, the adults dart about and most species spend a lot of time perched horizontally in the sun. Females lay eggs alone or in the company of guarding males. Most dip the tip of their abdomen into the water when releasing the eggs, but some will tap or splash the eggs into wet mud or moss, or simply flick them into a dry pond basin. Some larvae, like those of the emeralds, move sluggishly or squat on the bottom mud; others climb in vegetation.
Field Notes

Lives in exposed, nutrient-rich, marshy lakes and ponds especially on alkaline soils. Adult males are aggressively territorial. Common in the Thompson-Okanagan region, but scarce throughout the rest of its B.C. range. Most of its habitat has been drained and filled in the past century.

Distribution


Southern. Southern valleys east of the Coast Mountains.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeS3BlueNot Listed



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Additional Notes

Recent work on Libellula pulchella in BC (Cannings et al. 2016) has increased the number of records and expanded the species' range in the province. Until recently, records of this species from the Kootenay and Columbia Valleys in BC were far less frequent. In addition to an historical northern outlier in the Columbia River watershed from Revelstoke (Buckell, 1938), Cannings et al. (2000) list only seven; however, since that study was published, the number of reports has increased significantly, especially in the southern Rocky Mountain Trench. The documentation of ten sites from 2014 to 2016 in the Kamloops region has added that part of the Thompson River drainage to the geographical range.

Note Author:

Rob Cannings, 2017

Source:

Cannings, Rob, John Acorn and Rick Howie. 2016. Libellula pulchella (Twelve-spotted Skimmer): Range Expansion in Western Canada. Argia 28 (4).

References cited:

Buckell, E.R. 1938. Some locality records of British Columbia dragonflies. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 34: 55-62.

Cannings, R.A., S.G. Cannings and L.R. Ramsay. 2000. The dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of the Columbia Basin, British Columbia: field surveys, collections development and public education. Royal British Columbia Museum: Living Landscapes Project. Available at http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/staffprofiles/files/2014/05/dragonflies4.pdf. (Accessed 1 September 2016).

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