Keeled skimmer
Males turn from yellowish brown to powder blue as they mature, while females keep their ochre color and brown eyes for life.
| Where | Heathland pools and streams |
|---|---|
| Size | 56 to 66 mm wingspan |
| When | May to September |
This slender dragonfly shows a dark keel line down the back. Mature males are pale blue with blue grey eyes, while females stay yellowish brown with a black line down the abdomen; the wings span roughly 56 to 66 mm.
It favors shallow, acidic pools and slow streams on heathland, where males fly low and hover often before settling with wings held forward, on the wing from May to September.
Traits
Habitat
Heath
Colour
Blue, Brown, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; it neither bites nor stings.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The black-tailed skimmer is noticeably larger, with a wingspan of about 70 to 82 mm and a broader body with a black tipped abdomen, unlike the keeled skimmer's slimmer, evenly colored form.
Questions
Is the Keeled skimmer dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; it neither bites nor stings.
When can you see the Keeled skimmer?
The Keeled skimmer can be seen from May to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Andreas Eichler, CC BY‑SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
Report a mistake in this entry
Dragonflies and damselflies›Skimmers›Orthetrum
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.