The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Even if these are excluded, there remains a family of over 1000 species. With nearly worldwide distribution, these are almost certainly the most often seen of all dragonflies.
The common whitetail or long-tailed skimmer is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body, combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female Libellula pulchella, the twelve-spotted skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller size, shorter bodies, and white zigzag abdominal stripes; the abdominal stripes of L. puchella are straight and yellow.
Libellula depressa, the broad-bodied chaser or broad-bodied darter, is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.
Libellula quadrimaculata, known in Europe as the four-spotted chaser and in North America as the four-spotted skimmer, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae found widely throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
The flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America.
Pantala flavescens, the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider, is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet with good population on every continent except Antarctica although rare in Europe. Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km ; to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km —one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
Libellula is a genus of dragonflies, commonly called skimmers, in the family Libellulidae, distributed throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are found in the United States, where they are the best-known large dragonflies, often seen flying over freshwater ponds in summer. Many have showy wing patterns.
The widow skimmer is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. The nymphs live in the water, molting and growing until they are ready to emerge from the water and then molting a final time to reveal their wings.
The chalk-fronted corporal is a skimmer dragonfly found in the northern United States and southern Canada.
The neon skimmer is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. It can be found near ponds, lakes and slow moving streams in the southwest United States, Central America, and northern South America.
The eight-spotted skimmer is a dragonfly of the skimmer family.
The great blue skimmer is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. With a total length of 50 to 63 millimetres, it is one of the largest skimmers. The immature forms of the skimmer are brown in color and mature forms are blue-hued. This species is found near lakes, ponds, and slow streams in the eastern United States and rarely in southern Ontario.
Libellula semifasciata, the painted skimmer, is an uncommon eastern North American skimmer dragonfly, found from New Brunswick, Canada as far south as Texas and Florida.
The blue corporal, also known as little corporal, is a dragonfly in the Libellulidae, or skimmer family. First described as Libellula deplanata by Jules Pierre Rambur in 1842, it is common across much of the eastern United States.
Libellula comanche, the Comanche skimmer, is a species of skimmer in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Libellula auripennis, the golden-winged skimmer, is a species of skimmer in the family Libellulidae. It is found in North America.
Libellula needhami, or Needham's skimmer, is a species of skimmer in the family of dragonflies known as Libellulidae. It is found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States.
