---
title: "Widow Skimmer"
description: "Libellula luctuosa — Insects & spiders. The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/widow-skimmer
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Widow Skimmer

> Libellula luctuosa — Insects & spiders. The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers.

- Scientific name: *Libellula luctuosa*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 87875
- Wikidata: [Q141745](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141745)
- iNaturalist taxon: [47934](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47934)

## Names

- en: Widow Skimmer
- es: Rayadora luctuosa
- fr: Libellule mélancolique

## Countries with the most observations

US (77391), CA (8851), MX (8)

## Summary

The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. The nymphs live in the water, molting and growing until they are ready to emerge from the water and then molting a final time to reveal their wings.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow_skimmer

## Photo

![Widow Skimmer](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/widow-skimmer/medium.jpg)

Photo: Allen Hurlbert · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/56943029

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/widow-skimmer?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).