Sedge-fen

Guides

• Nannothemis bella

  Elfin Skimmer

  Nannothemis bella, commonly known as the elfin skimmer, is the smallest dragonfly in North America. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Nannothemis. Males are powdery blue, while females are black and yellow with wasp-like coloration. The species inhabits bogs and sedge fens across eastern North America, from Quebec south to Florida and west to Minnesota and Louisiana. Southern populations are disjunct and rare, making the species of conservation concern in that region.

  dragonflysmallestNorth-Americaconservationbioindicatorterritorialitysexual-dimorphismbog-habitatsedge-fenclimate-change-vulnerability