Orthetrum sabina
species of insect
Orthetrum sabina, the slender skimmer or green marsh hawk, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
It is widespread, being found from south-eastern Europe and North Africa to Japan and south to Australia and Micronesia.
Description and habitat
It is a medium-sized dragonfly with a wingspan of 60-85mm. Adults are greyish to greenish yellow with black and pale markings and green eyes. Its abdomen is greenish-yellow, marked with black. It is very similar to Orthetrum serapia in appearance, with both species appearing in northern Australia. Pale markings on segment four of the abdomen do not extend into the posterior section when viewed from above on Orthetrum sabina. Females are similar to males in shape, colour and size; differing only in sexual characteristics. This dragonfly perches motionless on shrubs and dry twigs for long periods. It preys voraciously on smaller butterflies and dragonflies.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Orthetrum sabina” is species of insect. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Orthetrum, sabina and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1306401. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Orthetrum sabina” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.