Insects › Skimmers
Eight-spotted Skimmer
Libellula forensis
27 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Easily confused with
Twelve-spotted SkimmerLibellula pulchella
Common WhitetailPlathemis lydia
Widow SkimmerLibellula luctuosa
Four-spotted SkimmerLibellula quadrimaculata
Desert WhitetailPlathemis subornata
Hoary SkimmerLibellula nodisticta
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 8,657 |
|---|---|
| Canada | 2,294 |
| Oregon | 2,255 |
| British Columbia | 2,179 |
| Washington | 2,108 |
| California | 1,624 |
| Idaho | 443 |
| Utah | 414 |
| Alberta | 323 |
| Colorado | 191 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Physical
- Aquatic larvaLarval stage lives in water before becoming terrestrialFrom its classification
- ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropods · Arthropoda |
| Class | Insects · Insecta |
| Order | Dragonflies and Damselflies · Odonata |
| Family | Skimmers · Libellulidae |
| Genus | Chasers and King Skimmers · Libellula |
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Eight-spotted Skimmer with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.