Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)

The Keeled Skimmer

This skimmer is the smallest of the blue body dragonflies that inhabit the UK.

It may be localised & is not generally wide-spread; however if a suitable breeding site is located they can be seen in some numbers.

They tend to prefer boggy & peaty ground which contain runnels pools and seepages.

The Keeled Skimmer may be seen on the wing from early June through to late August and into September.

It could be confused with the Black Tailed Skimmer; however it is smaller in size and lacks the black tip to the abdomen.

As the males mature their abdomens turn a powder blue where as the females remain a straw colour.