Long Skimmer Orthetrum trinacria

This African champion is moving north. Once confined to sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, it has recently expanded its empire into Mediterranean Europe, first spotted in Malta in 2003 and successfully breeding in the island of Gozo by 2004. Now it's established in southern Spain and the Canary Islands too. Climate change may be opening new territory for this highly adaptable skimmer, which thrives in rivers, marshes, and seasonal wetlands across its vast and expanding range.