
	Description


	Size
	Total length: 113 ⁄16″

	Similar Species



	Habitat
	Ponds, marshes, lakes, and streams.


	Biology
	Season
	Early April to mid-October

	Behavior


	Life Cycle


	Naiad Food


	Adult Food


	Distribution
			Sources 7, 17, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82.
	8/28/2022

	Occurrence
	Common


	Taxonomy
	Order	Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
	Suborder	Epiprocta
	Infraorder	Anisoptera (dragonflies)
	Superfamily	Libelluloidea
	Family	Libellulidae (skimmers)
	Genus	Libellula (king skimmers)

	Synonyms


	Common Names
	widow skimmer


	Visitor Photos

	Share your photo of this insect.
			This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.


	Cindy Beane

	saw two in our vegetable (weed) garden.



	Theresa Zaske




	Alfredo Colon




	Lynn Rubey

	Female Widow Skimmer resting on its perch along the river in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.



	Lawrence J. Waldhauser




	Laura Baxley




	Kirk Nelson

	Female widow skimmer




	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

	Male




	Female

Camera


	Slideshows


	Widow Skimmer DianesDigitals

	About Copyright DianesDigitals



	Libellula luctuosa (Widow Skimmer) Allen Chartier




	Widow Skimmer Victor Fazio

	About Records of Libellula luctuosa (Widow Skimmer).

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

	Share your video of this insect.
		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.


	Dan W. Andree

	"Widow and Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly" Aug 11, 2016

	About Two dragonflies somewhat similar in color but quite different overall. This video shows some differences between a Widow and a Twelve-spotted Skimmer. Both were adult males. Somewhat similar in size though the Twelve-spotted is a little larger of the two.



	Other Videos


	Widow Skimmer Dragonfly (Libellulidae: Libellula luctuosa) Female on Stick Carl Barrentine

	About Uploaded on Jul 2, 2011 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (29 June 2011). Thank you to John and Jane Balaban (@Bugguide.net) for confirming the identity and sex of this species!



	Widow Skimmer (Libellulidae: Libellula luctuosa) on Stem Carl Barrentine

	About Uploaded on Jul 11, 2009 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (11 July 2009).



	Widow Skimmer Stoil Ivanov

	About Uploaded on Jul 3, 2011 Widow Skimmer ( Libellula luctuosa ) male first than female filmed at Goose Lake Prairie Illinois 7-03-2011.



	Widow Skimmer Dragonfly on June 28, 2013 Basicbill's Outdoor and Travel Channel

	About Published on Jul 2, 2013 A male Widow Skimmer Dragonfly at the Bluff Fen Nature Preserve in Elgin, Illinois.

Camcorder


Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this insect.
		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location.



Cindy Beane 7/2/2023	Location: Collinwood Twp, Meeker Co. saw two in our vegetable (weed) garden.



Theresa Zaske 8/27/2022	Location: Rock Lake Township just north of Balaton



Alfredo Colon 10/16/2019	Location: Woodbury, MN



Lynn Rubey 8/3/2019	Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge Female Widow Skimmer resting on its perch along the river in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.



Laura Baxley 7/11/2018	Location: Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie



Kirk Nelson 6/12/2016	Location: Fort Snelling State Park Female widow skimmer



MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park Blue Mounds State Park Bunker Hills Regional Park Butternut Valley Prairie SNA Camden State Park Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center Carver Park Reserve Cedar Mountain SNA Cedar Rock SNA Clear Lake SNA Cottonwood River Prairie SNA Crosby Farm Regional Park Des Moines River SNA Falls Creek SNA Flandrau State Park Franconia Bluffs SNA Frontenac State Park Glynn Prairie SNA Hastings SNA Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie Holthe Prairie SNA Hyland Lake Park Reserve Hythecker Prairie SNA Iron Horse Prairie SNA Jensen Memorial WMA Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA Kasota Prairie SNA Kilen Woods State Park Lake Carlos State Park Lake Elmo Park Reserve Lake Louise State Park Lake Maria State Park Lake Rebecca Park Reserve Lebanon Hills Regional Park Maplewood State Park Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods SNA Mille Lacs Kathio State Park Mille Lacs Moraine SNA Minneopa State Park Minnesota Valley NWR, Rapids Lake Unit Mississippi River County Park Myre-Big Island State Park Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Touch the Sky Prairie Unit Ordway Prairie Oronoco Prairie SNA Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo P.N. and G.M. Nelson Wildlife Sanctuary Phelps Lake WMA Pine Bend Bluffs SNA Regal Meadow Rice Lake State Park River Warren Outcrops SNA St. Croix Savanna SNA Sand Prairie Wildlife Management and Environmental Education Area Savage Fen SNA Split Rock Creek State Park Spring Lake Park Reserve Springbrook Nature Center Swedes Forest SNA Uncas Dunes SNA Vermillion River WMA Whitetail Woods Regional Park Wild River State Park Woodbury WMA