Bug FAQLong Skimmer
Orthetrum trinacria · Order: Odonata · Family: Libellulidae
The Long Skimmer is a dragonfly in the Libellulidae family. It lives near rivers, lakes, swamps and other freshwater wetlands, and has been recorded breeding in southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Its range includes many African countries, parts of southern Europe, and it was first noted in Malta in 2003-2004.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Orthetrum trinacria, called the Long Skimmer, is a dragonfly species in the family Libellulidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes and marshes, both permanent and intermittent. It also breeds in southern Spain (Murcia and Malaga) and the Canary Islands.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is found across many African nations, as well as in Italy’s islands, France’s Corsica, and other Mediterranean locations.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Libellulidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthetrum_trinacria
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.