Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (7/17/2014).

Photo by Mike Hudson MBP List

A male Slaty Skimmer in Montgomery Co., Maryland (8/10/2014).

View Record Details Photo by Steve Scholnick MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Washington Co., Maryland (8/9/2020). (c) Jim Moore (Maryland), some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/'>CC BY-NC</a>). (Photo ID: 366804 - Psn: 20)

Slaty Skimmer in Washington Co., Maryland (8/9/2020). (c) Jim Moore (Maryland), some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).

View Record Details Photo by Jim Moore MBP List

A male Slaty Skimmer in 100 Acre Heath, Maine (7/2/2010).

Photo by Jim Brighton MBP List

A male Slaty Skimmer in Calvert Co., Maryland (6/20/2010).

Photo by Mike Ostrowski MBP List

A female Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore Co., Maryland (6/8/2012).

Photo by Jon Corcoran MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/12/2014). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/'>CC BY-NC</a>). (Photo ID: 719604 - Psn: 44)

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/12/2014). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).

View Record Details Photo by Frode Jacobsen MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (8/26/2020). (c) Nathaniel Schwartz, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/'>CC BY-NC-ND</a>). (Photo ID: 225585 - Psn: 50)

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (8/26/2020). (c) Nathaniel Schwartz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND).

View Record Details Photo by Nathaniel Schwartz via iNaturalist MBP List

Slaty Skimmers in a wheel (mating) in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (7/19/2014).

View Record Details Photo by Richard Orr MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Frederick Co., Maryland (6/17/2007). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/'>CC BY-NC</a>). (Photo ID: 183346 - Psn: 72)

Slaty Skimmer in Frederick Co., Maryland (6/17/2007). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).

View Record Details Photo by Hans Holbrook MBP List

A Slaty Skimmer in Worcester Co., Maryland (8/7/2013).

View Record Details Photo by Scott Housten MBP List

A female Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (8/18/2006).

View Record Details Photo by Thomas Wilson MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Montgomery Co., Maryland (7/4/2025). (c) oldqingwa, some rights reserved (<a rel='license' href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/'>CC BY-NC-ND</a>). (Photo ID: 1307598 - Psn: 200)

Slaty Skimmer in Montgomery Co., Maryland (7/4/2025). (c) oldqingwa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND).

View Record Details Photo by oldqingwa via iNaturalist MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Charles Co., Maryland (6/14/2020). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

View Record Details Photo by Frode Jacobsen MBP List

Slaty Skimmer in Calvert Co., Maryland (6/25/2025). (c) rosalie-rick, all rights reserved (Photo ID: 1459022 - Psn: 200)

View Record Details Photo by rosalie-rick via iNaturalist MBP List

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1,746 Records

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Status

Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) is a common habitat generalist skimmer through much of eastern North America. The bluish-black males are distinctive. This species can be found at ponds, lakes, slower sections of creeks, or even bogs or wooded swamps. Slaty Skimmer is common through much of Maryland (Richard Orr's The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Maryland and the District of Columbia). There are records from all counties.

Seasonality Summary

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Resources

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Citations

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Use of media featured on Maryland Biodiversity Project is only permitted with express permission of the photographer.

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (7/17/2014). Media by Mike Hudson.

A male Slaty Skimmer in Montgomery Co., Maryland (8/10/2014). View Record Details Media by Steve Scholnick.

Slaty Skimmer in Washington Co., Maryland (8/9/2020). (c) Jim Moore (Maryland), some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). View Record Details Media by Jim Moore.

A male Slaty Skimmer in 100 Acre Heath, Maine (7/2/2010). Media by Jim Brighton.

A male Slaty Skimmer in Calvert Co., Maryland (6/20/2010). Media by Mike Ostrowski.

A female Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore Co., Maryland (6/8/2012). Media by Jon Corcoran.

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore Co., Maryland (7/12/2014). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). View Record Details Media by Frode Jacobsen.

Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (8/26/2020). (c) Nathaniel Schwartz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND). View Record Details Media by Nathaniel Schwartz via iNaturalist.

Slaty Skimmers in a wheel (mating) in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (7/19/2014). View Record Details Media by Richard Orr.

Slaty Skimmer in Frederick Co., Maryland (6/17/2007). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). View Record Details Media by Hans Holbrook.

A Slaty Skimmer in Worcester Co., Maryland (8/7/2013). View Record Details Media by Scott Housten.

A female Slaty Skimmer in Baltimore City, Maryland (8/18/2006). View Record Details Media by Thomas Wilson.

Slaty Skimmer in Montgomery Co., Maryland (7/4/2025). (c) oldqingwa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND). View Record Details Media by oldqingwa via iNaturalist.

Slaty Skimmer in Charles Co., Maryland (6/14/2020). (c) Frode Jacobsen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) View Record Details Media by Frode Jacobsen.

Source: Wikipedia

Libellula incesta

Male

Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Infraorder:	Anisoptera
Family:	Libellulidae
Genus:	Libellula
Species:	L. incesta
Binomial name
*Libellula incesta* Hagen, 1861

Libellula incesta, the slaty skimmer, is a dragonfly of the skimmer family, native to eastern United States and southern Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Adults are 5.28 cm (2.08 in) long. Mature males are dark blue with black heads. Females and juveniles have brown abdomens with a darker stripe down their backs. Adults fly from June to August.^[1] Larvae are habitat specialists, found in the benthos of permanent lakes. ^[2]

References

[edit]

^ Mead, Kurt. 2009. Dragonflies of the North Woods, Duluth, MN:Kollath+Stensaas.
^ McCauley, S. J. (2007). "The Role of Local and Regional Processes in Structuring Larval Dragonfly Distributions across Habitat Gradients". Oikos. 116 (1). [Nordic Society Oikos, Wiley]: 121–133. Bibcode:2007Oikos.116..121M. doi:10.1111/j.2006.0030-1299.15105.x. JSTOR 40234985. Retrieved 2022-08-04.

Taxon identifiers
Libellula incesta	Wikidata: Q141363 BioLib: 227922 BOLD: 16610 BugGuide: 2650 CoL: 6Q8QD EoL: 131399 GBIF: 1427899 iNaturalist: 104580 IRMNG: 10984456 ITIS: 101900 IUCN: 51276332 NatureServe: 2.114789 NCBI: 70392 Observation.org: 88299 Open Tree of Life: 117537

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Slaty Skimmer

Libellula incesta Hagen, 1861

Synonyms

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