Southern Skimmer

Southern Skimmer

The Southern Skimmer is a fairly small dragonfly.
It's quite a common species in Central & Southern Europe and North Africa, but was, until recently, largely absent in the rest of Europe.

This dragonfly however has expanded its habitat to the north in recent years, probably as a result of climate change.

Nowadays, it's a rather rare species in Belgium where they mostly stay in abandoned quarries.

I spotted this female specimen in the open air caves ‘Fondry des Chiens’ at Nismes, Belgium (see pictures below)

Dutch name : Zuidelijke Oeverlibel
German name : Südlicher Blaupfeil
Latin name : Orthetrum brunneum