The dragonflies of Dhahran
Hills are about in good numbers at the moment but they are finding it hard to
find any water to use. This Slender Skimmer Orthetrum
sabina also known as Oasis Skimmer
was flying around the only small patch of reeds on the outside of the fence to
the Percolation Pond. It regularly used twigs and reed stems to rest on and the
photo below was taken with a 600mm lens and I had to walk back several metres
to be able to focus on the insect but the resulting image turned out quite
well.
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| Slender Skimmer |
The slender skimmer is a green to
greyish-yellow dragonfly with the thorax and abdomen striped black. The abdomen
is swollen towards the base and there is a small dark spot present at the base
of the hindwing. The adult dragonfly spends a few days to several months
feeding and maturing where the dragonfly normally develops its full adult
colour. The slender skimmer is renowned for feeding on other dragonfly species,
including some species larger than itself. It is an extremely widespread
species occurring from south-eastern Europe to Japan and south to Australia and
Micronesia. They occupy a broad range of slow-flowing and still water habitats,
from ponds to wet rice fields and marshes and are very tolerant of disturbance sometimes
occupying temporary water sources.