Great Blue Skimmers

Male Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans). 2.2″ long. Note the wing pattern, seen better below; in addition to size this will help you distinguish these from the also blue males of the smaller Common/Eastern Pondhawk and even smaller Blue Dasher. This one is in a classic oblique perch here; the species will also perch horizontally, as the female below. As is often the case with dragonflies, the female Great Blue Skimmer looks rather different. There’s no reason to call her blue at all.The female, here seen being grasped behind the head by the male as she holds on to his abdomen with her legs, was soon dipping her abdomen down on the surface of the water to lay her now-fertilized eggs. Not very daintily, like some dragonfly species, more like laying depth charges.