Bug FAQPainted Skimmer
Libellula semifasciata · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
The painted skimmer is a medium dragonfly about 43 mm long. Its wings have amber at the base and tip with several brown spots, and the abdomen shows a white front stripe that turns yellow toward the rear. It is an uncommon skimmer found in eastern North America, from New Brunswick down to Texas and Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Each wing is amber at the base and tip with several brown spots, and the abdomen has a lateral stripe that is white in front and yellow behind.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It measures about 43 mm (1.7 in) in length, classifying it as medium-sized.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The painted skimmer is an uncommon skimmer dragonfly in eastern North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range extends from New Brunswick, Canada, southward to Texas and Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 35 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Texas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What are the key markings of a painted skimmer?
Its wings are amber at the base and tip with brown spots, and the abdomen has a white-front, yellow-rear lateral stripe.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the painted skimmer live?
It occurs in eastern North America, from New Brunswick down to Texas and Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellula_semifasciata
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.