Twelve-spotted Skimmer, male
Libellula pulchella
Twelve-spotted Skimmer · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 13 August 2026
A male Twelve-spotted Skimmer perched over the pond in the August border, a big dragonfly of still water across North America and one of the easiest to name in flight.
Three dark patches on each wing, with white showing between and beyond them - the "twelve spots" of the name, though the white is really pruinescence, a waxy bloom mature males develop over time rather than a fixed part of the wing pattern. Younger males and females carry the dark spots alone.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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