Roseate Skimmer

A dragonfly is a double winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera (from Greek ανισος anisos, "uneven" + πτερος pteros, "wings", due the hindwing being broader than the forewing). It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest. Dragonflies possess six legs (like any other insect), but most of them cannot walk well. Dragonflies are some of the fastest insects in the world.

Dragonflies are valuable predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, wasps, and very rarely butterflies. They are usually found around marshes, lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. Some 5680 different species of dragonflies are known in the world today.

The Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) is a common southern dragonfly. The male of the species has a rose pink and red/maroon colored abdomen. Females of the species have orange-brown abdomens with clear orangish veins and a brownish thorax with a light stripe down back. The young have a bright pinkish or purple abdomen and when they are mature adults their thorax will develop a pale bluish tint.

The wings are normally clear except for the narrow brown tips at the edges. The juveniles are brown initially in both sexes with pale stripes as well as the abdomen being uniformly brown.

It eats by foraging at the top of tall vegetation and it is an aggressive predator that takes insects that are just slightly smaller than itself. Nymphs are found in the silty bottoms of shallow streams that feed larger rivers and sinkholes especially in the state parks with lakes.

The Roseate Skimmer is widespread in North America in the United States, Central America as far south as Chile. The Roseate has watersheds specifically in Arkansas. It seems to invade new habitats and readily expands its range of known habitats such as ponds, lakes, temporary pools, canals found throughout the New World tropics, that includes the Bahamas and the West Indies and Hawaii.