Night-Stalking Tiger Beetle vs Southern Skimmer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Night-Stalking Tiger Beetle Southern Skimmer
Scientific Name Omus dejeanii Orthetrum brunneum
Order Coleoptera Odonata
Family Cicindelidae Libellulidae
Size 12-18 mm 40-47mm
Habitat Forests Rivers & Streams
Diet Predators Predators
Regions North America Europe, Asia, Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Night-Stalking Tiger Beetle

A flightless nocturnal tiger beetle from western North America with a matte black body. Unlike its diurnal relatives, it hunts by stealth on the forest floor at night.

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Did You Know?

While most tiger beetles are colorful, fast-flying daytime hunters, this species has abandoned flight entirely for a nocturnal ground-hunting lifestyle.

Southern Skimmer

A robust skimmer dragonfly where males develop a pale powder-blue pruinescence. Females are brown with a pale lateral stripe. It favors warm running water habitats.

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Did You Know?

It prefers flowing water over still ponds, which is unusual among skimmer dragonflies.