Libellula luctuosa Burmeister, 1839

Introduction
We’ll open this year with the same order that opened the North Carolina Insect of the Week series one year ago: Odonata. This week’s species, Libellula luctuosa (Libellulidae, the skimmers), commonly referred to as the widow skimmer, is widely distributed throughout North Carolina and, in fact, across the USA.
Taxonomic History
Hermann Burmeister described this species back in 1839, based on at least one specimens collected in Pennsylvania (see original description below). The type specimen is apparently deposited in the Sommer collection, housed at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna (see Calvert, 1898). The species epithet, luctuosa, means “sorrowful,” which may refer to this species’ black coloration. Synonyms include:

  • Libellula basalis Say, 1839
  • Libellula odiosa Hagen, 1861
  • Belonia luctuosa Kirby, 1890
  • Libellula luctuosa Muttkowski, 1910
  • Libellula odiosa Muttkowski, 1910
  • Libellula basalis Muttkowski, 1910
  • Libellula luctuosa f. odiosa Davies & Tobin, 1985
Diagnosis
This medium-sized dragonfly (42-50 mm) is easily diagnosed by the black, pigmented areas that cover the proximal half of each wing. Females have a single yellowish stripe medially on the thorax that splits into two lines laterally on the abdomen, while males typically have a bluish body (see photo above).
44_mximage
1. Female specimen, exhibiting bla... Female specimen, exhibiting black marks on the wing. image copyright D. Gordon E. Robertson. ↰ ↴
 
Natural History
Naiads (the immatures) typically live in the still, shallow water of ponds, where they prey upon other arthropods. Adults usually hang out around ponds, hunting prey and, for males especially, defending their territories: perching, patrolling, etc. Their behavior has been the subject of numerous research projects, as has the ecology of immatures.
Distribution
Widely distributed across the USA, except at the highest altitudes in the Rockies and other mountains of the western USA. Our specimens look like they have been collected along a transect between Oxford and Clayton, though they were collected in 1965, 1968, 1970, and 1989. Looks like were due for another few specimens – from localities east and west of Raleigh.
Find out more
  • Libellula luctuosa Burmeister, 1839 species page at GBIF: http://data.gbif.org/species/14184507/
  • Libellula luctuosa Burmeister, 1839 species page at EOL: http://www.eol.org/pages/131398
  • Calvert, Philip P. (1898/1899) Burmeister’s Types of Odonata. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 25: 27-104
  • Burmeister, H. (1839). Handbuch der Entomologie. Zweiter Band. Besondere Entomologie. Enslin, Berlin.
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