Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans)

Elk Grove, IL
2012-06-25

The Great Blue Skimmer is a skimmer of the Libellulidae family. The Great Blue Skimmer has green eyes, a pale blue thorax, and blue abdomen. Its nodus is black. The tips of the wings are black, and the base of the wings are marked with black spots.

Elk Grove, IL
2012-06-27

The female Great Blue Skimmer has a brown thorax, and sternum edged with black.

Elk Grove, IL
2012-08-06

The photo shows the emerald green compound eyes of the Great Blue Skimmer. Its face is ivory off-white and its legs are black.

The flying jewel, the dragonflies marked the summer in the Busse park. That certain corner of the wood is the territory of the great blue skimmer. This skimmer is rather large in size and its blue body stands out of the green grass background. Its emerald green eyes are not fused in the middle, which is typical for all Libellulidae family dragonflies. The wings are mostly transparent with black patches on the edge. It would fly over the area and come back to a fixed location.