Orthemis Ferruginea, North America and
Mexico
The Roseate Skimmer dragonfly is from the Family Libellulidae and the
male of the species has a rose pink and red/maroon colored abdomen. Youngsters
have a bright pinkish or purple abdomen and when they are mature adults
their thorax will develop a pale bluish tint. The females of the species
have orange-brown abdomens with clear orangish veins and a brownish thorax
with a light stripe down back. The wings are normally clear except for
the narrow brown tips at the edges. The juveniles are brown initially
in both sexes with pale stripes as well as the abdomen being uniformly
brown.
Males use their abdomens to ward off intruding males by bending the tip
of their rear downwards. They pursue females in flight and when mating
takes place it lasts for an average of only 10 seconds. Oviposition (egg
laying, female egg positioning) by females takes an average of 1-3 minutes
and is done by her flicking of the eggs as water droplets along the shoreline.
The male guards the female during this time, often hovering close to her
and bending the abdomen down and doing flybys at right angles to potential
threats such as when numerous competing males are trying to establish
territory and mate.
It wasn't until 1901 that this species had accumulated more than one specimen
on the official record, taken in Key West Florida, 1864. It has a beautiful
dazzling metallic red and blue head with a tangerine colored thorax and
abdomen. It is now known to live along the water drainages of southern
New Mexico, Pecos, Gila, and Rio Grande, among other regions. It can be
seen skimming above small freshwater streams where its nymphs are found
in the silty bottoms of shallow streams that feed larger rivers and sinkholes
especially in the state parks with lakes.
It behaves like many other species of Libellula by foraging at the top
of tall vegetation and it is an aggressive predator that takes insects
that are just slightly smaller than itself. Males will vigorously patrol
regular territories averaging 10 miles in diameter. This dragonfly species
is widespread and seems to invade new habitats and readily expand the
range of its known habitats such as ponds, lakes, temporary pools, canals
found throughout the New World tropics, that includes the Bahamas and
the West Indies and Hawaii. They are also distributed in North America
in the United States, Central America all the way south to Chile with
watersheds specifically in Arkansas, Brazos, Canadian, Cimarron, Colorado,
Guadalupe, Mississippi, Neches, Nueces, San Jacinto, Trinity, Ouachita,
Red, Rio Grande, Sabine, and San Antonio.
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