Needham's Skimmer

Libellula needhami · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Needham's Skimmer
Photo: Bob Nieman, CC BY

It can be told apart from the similar Libellula auripennis by specific characteristics.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males show a red face; females show a brown or yellow face. The hind tibiae are brown, not black.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Louisiana, Delaware.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Needham's Skimmer photo 3
Photo: Brooke Smith, CC BY
Needham's Skimmer photo 4
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA
Needham's Skimmer photo 5
Photo: Bonnie Semmling, CC BY
Needham's Skimmer photo 6
Photo: Matt Schenck, CC BY

Same family (Libellulidae)

Blue DasherBlue DasherPachydiplax longipennisEastern PondhawkEastern PondhawkErythemis simplicicollisCommon WhitetailCommon WhitetailPlathemis lydiaWidow SkimmerWidow SkimmerLibellula luctuosaAutumn MeadowhawkAutumn MeadowhawkSympetrum vicinumCommon DarterCommon DarterSympetrum striolatum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellula_needhami

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.