Will they visit?: Blue Skimmers will visit home gardens with ponds and pools
Natural Distribution: Common and widespread throughout the South West and Perth region
Orthetrum caledonicum – Jeff Melvaine (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Atlas of Living Australia
Orthetrum caledonicum – Jeff Melvaine (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Atlas of Living Australia
Orthetrum caledonicum – Jeff Melvaine (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Atlas of Living Australia
Habitat at a Glance
See Habitat Guide for more detail
Shelter: Perched on rushes, shrubs, logs, and rocks
Diet: Flying insects and aquatic invertebrates
Water: Large frog ponds
ReWild Benefit: Pest control
Habitat Guide - Shelter
Natural Shelter
Blue Skimmers perch on rushes, sedges, shrubs, and trees planted around frog ponds. If you don’t have room for a pond, a dampland is a great alternative for attracting dragonflies to the garden. Their young (called nymphs) require submerged plants within a pond to provide protection from potential predators.
Novel Shelter
Not required.
Habitat Guide - Food and Water
Providing natural sources of food
Blue Skimmers capture their prey on the wing. Tall rushes, shrubs, and trees provide habitat for Blue Skimmers to survey the garden for potential prey. Flowering plants within the garden (wattles, kennedia, gravillea, or hardenbergia) will attract other flying insects and provide Blue Skimmers additional foraging habitat. Nymphs feed on aquatic insects, tadpoles, and even small fish!
Providing sources of water
The Blue Skimmer often breed in garden ponds and under right conditions can establish a population quickly. Larger, well vegetated ponds have a greater chance of supporting dragonflies. Dragonflies lay their eggs in ponds and the aquatic nymphs forage for food under the water. Dragonflies emerge from the water and leave an exuvia (shed skin) on rushes, logs, and rocks.
Soft flowing fountains or waterfalls oxygenate ponds and help create suitable habitat for breeding dragonflies. Powerful water fountains can scare away some dragonflies and they are unlikely to use the pond to lay their eggs.
ReWild Benefits
Dragonflies are efficient predators and excellent pests controllers around the home. If you see this charismatic dragonfly around your garden or pond, you can record your sighting on Atlas of Living Australia!
