Bug FAQNeon Skimmer
Libellula croceipennis · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
The Neon Skimmer is a large dragonfly with bright red coloring on its face, thorax, abdomen and appendages. Males have an amber-yellow shade at the base of each wing that reaches the wing triangle.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Bright red on the face, front of the thorax, abdomen and abdominal appendages. Male wings show an amber-yellow shadow at the base extending to the wing triangle.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Total length is 54 to 59 mm, with the abdomen 32 to 39 mm long. Hind wings measure 35 to 47 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the Neon Skimmer look like?
It is a large dragonfly with bright red on the face, thorax front, abdomen and appendages, and males have amber-yellow shading at the wing bases.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_skimmer
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.