The wide-bellied skimmer is a small East Asian dragonfly with a short, broad abdomen, especially in females. Mature males turn black with a pale bluish dusting, while young males are yellow. It lives in Japan, Korea, and coastal China, so you won't see it in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 1¼–1½ in (31–39 mm) long, with a stubby, wide abdomen. Young adults of both sexes are mostly yellow. Mature males turn black with a pale blue-gray bloom on the abdomen.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- shallow ponds
- marshes
- fallow rice fields
- Range
- Japan (from southern Hokkaido to Kyushu), the Korean Peninsula, and coastal China. It is not found in North America.
Behavior
- Activity
- Adults stay close to the wetland where they emerged and don't wander far.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Males guard small territories. The female lays eggs alone by tapping the tip of her abdomen on the water near plants, while the male hovers overhead.
- Larva
- The hairy get coated in mud, which is said to help them survive for a while when their pond dries up.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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