White-tailed skimmer
Amazing fact
The white-tailed skimmer has pale blue eyes; those of the similar oshiokara-tonbo dragonfly are black.
目黒区
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The white-tailed skimmer has pale blue eyes; those of the similar oshiokara-tonbo dragonfly are black.
THE REAL WORLD
The real White-tailed skimmer
- Scientific name
- Orthetrum albistylum
- Japanese name
- シオカラトンボ
- Group
- Insects
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Odonata
- Family
- Libellulidae
- Genus
- Orthetrum
A dragonfly that grows up in all kinds of watery places in the lowlands and low hills, from ponds and marshes to rice paddies and puddles.
When males mature, their chest and abdomen become covered in a bluish-white powder. Its name (shiokara means salty) comes from likening this powder to salt.
Females are sometimes called 'mugiwara tonbo' (straw dragonfly). While a female lays eggs in the water, the male often flies above to guard her.
How the White-tailed skimmer lives
Before it matures, its body is yellow with black stripes.
守山市Basic data
- Size
- Body length: 49–60 mm
- Range
- Hokkaido to Okinawa
Where the White-tailed skimmer has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- シオカラトンボ
- 简体中文
- 白尾灰蜻
- 繁體中文
- 白尾灰蜻
- 한국어
- 밀잠자리
- Español
- Centinela puntiblanca
- Français
- Orthétrum à Stylets Blancs
- Deutsch
- Östlicher Blaupfeil
- Italiano
- Frecciazzurra puntabianca
- Русский
- Стрекоза белохвостая
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 国土交通省 大隅河川国道事務所 — 肝属川の昆虫 シオカラトンボChecked: 2026-11-03
- 守山市 — 美崎公園とその周辺の自然（トンボのなかま）Checked: 2026-11-03
- 目黒区 — 目黒に住む昆虫（トンボ類）Checked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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