Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests

Sunday 23 August 2015

WHITE TAILED SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (Female) (Orthetrum albistylum) Hortobágy National Park - The Puszta, Hortobágy, Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar megye, Hungary

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See below for detailed species information
The White-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum) is a Eurasian species of dragonfly. It occurs in a wide band which stretches across central and parts of southern Europe from France in the west to Japan in eastern Asia. This medium sized dragonfly has a patchy distribution but can be locally common. Warmer summers as a result of climate change has seen this species, in common with some other dragonflies, expanded its range further north in Europe.  Care needs to be taken when identifying this species as it can be easily confused with its more common relative and very similar looking Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum). It is on the wing from late May to early September. Text © www.rawbirds.com