Black-tailed Skimmer

Orthetrum cancellatum

(Linnaeus, 1758)

National assessment

Unassessed

Local assessment

Stable

Statistics

Occurrences

2,545 since 2000 2,896 all time

Occupied 1 km squares

278 since 2000 316 all time

Earliest occurrence

1950

Latest occurrence

2024

Distribution

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Occurrence since 1950

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This chart should not be relied upon for an indication of species status as variations in recording effort can heavily affect the count of occurrences and occupied 1km squares.

Data sources

Local species recorders

Ancholme IDB.

Biological Records Centre. iRecord (CC-BY). Licenced under CC-BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

British Dragonfly Society Recording Scheme. Dragonfly records from the British Dragonfly Society Recording Scheme. Licenced under CC-BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Buglife.

Environment Agency. Biosys Extract - Central, East, North Lincolnshire and Welland Sub-catchments 2005-2015 (INVERT). Licenced under OGL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3.

Environment Agency. Biosys Extract - Central, East, North Lincolnshire and Welland Sub-catchments 2017. Licenced under OGL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3.

Environment Agency. Biosys Extract - Fenland Natural Area 1990-2011. Licenced under OGL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3.

Environment Agency. Biosys Extract - North Lincolnshire Sub-catchment 1985-2012. Licenced under OGL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3.

Environment Agency. Freshwater river macroinvertebrate surveys (Biosys). Licenced under OGL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3.

Lapwings Consultants.

Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Shire Group of Internal Drainage Boards. Shire Group IDB species data 2004 to present. Licenced under OGL http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3.

Cite this page

GLNP (2025). Orthetrum cancellatum (Linnaeus, 1758) species profile, in Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership (ed.) Greater Lincolnshire species data bank. Available at: http://glincsson.glnp.org.uk/view?taxon_list_item_key=NBNORG0000008998 (Accessed 08 November 2025).