Seasonality Snapshot
Status
Elfin Skimmer (Nannothemis bella) is the smallest dragonfly in North America. This diminutive species haunts bogs, where it breeds in pools in the Sphagnum. It may also occur at grassy seepages along lake edges (Paulson, 2011). While common in parts of its range, this is a rare dragonfly in Maryland. It has been found mainly in grassy bogs within three coastal plain counties, plus one population in the piedmont, in Frederick County (Richard Orr's The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Maryland and the District of Columbia). This species is state endangered in Maryland, and ranked as S1 (highly state rare).
Description
The Elfin Skimmer is North America's smallest dragonfly, averaging between 3/4" and an inch long.
Map Snapshot
176 Records
Source: Wikipedia
Nannothemis bella | |
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Male | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Odonata |
Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
Family: | Libellulidae |
Subfamily: | Brachydiplacinae |
Genus: | Nannothemis Brauer, 1868 |
Species: | N. bella
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Binomial name | |
Nannothemis bella (Uhler, 1857)
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Nannothemis is a genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, Nannothemis bella, commonly known as the elfin skimmer.[1][2][3][4][5] The elfin skimmer is native to the eastern United States and Canada, and is the smallest dragonfly in North America.[6] Males are powdery blue, while females are black and yellow, resembling a wasp.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Nannothemis Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ "Nannothemis". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ "Nannothemis genus Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ "Odonata Central". Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- ^ "World Odonata List". Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound. 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- ^ "Elfin Skimmer". Maryland Biodiversity Project. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Nannothemis bella". Wisconsin Odonata Survey. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
Further reading
[edit]- Silsby, Jill (2001). Dragonflies of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-1560989592.
- Steinmann, Henrik (1997). Wermuth, Heinz; Fischer, Maximilian (eds.). World Catalogue of Odonata, Volume II: Anisoptera. Das Tierreich. Vol. 111. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-014934-0.
- Needham, James G.; Westfall Jr., Minter J. Jr.; May, Michael L. (2000). Dragonflies of North America. Scientific Publishers. ISBN 978-0-945417-94-1.
- Kalkman, V. J. (2013). Studies on phylogeny and biogeography of damselflies (Odonata) with emphasis on the Argiolestidae (PhD). Leiden University. hdl:1887/22953.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Nannothemis at Wikimedia Commons