Spangled Skimmer

Libellula cyanea · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae

Also called: Black-faced Skimmer

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Spangled Skimmer
Photo: John B., CC BY

Male Spanged Skimmers have a blue thorax and abdomen. Female Spanged Skimmers are brown with yellow stripes and have clear wings with brown tips. They are native to the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males show a blue thorax and abdomen. Females are brown with yellow stripes and have clear wings that end in brown tips.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species originates from the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 34 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire.

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

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Spangled Skimmer photo 3
Photo: Wayne National Forest, CC BY
Spangled Skimmer photo 4
Photo: John Rosford, CC BY
Spangled Skimmer photo 5
Photo: unknown, CC0
Spangled Skimmer photo 6
Photo: Laura Gaudette, 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_cyanea

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.