Great blue skimmer

Description

The great blue skimmer (Libellula vibrans) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. With a total length of 50 to 63 mm, it is one of the largest skimmers. The immature forms of the skimmer are brown in color and mature forms are blue-hued. This species is found near lakes, ponds, and slow streams in the eastern United States and rarely in southern Ontario. Libellula is a genus of dragonflies, commonly called skimmers, in the family Libellulidae, distributed throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are found in the United States, where they are the best-known large dragonflies, often seen flying over freshwater ponds in summer. Many have showy wing patterns. The taxa Ladona (corporals) and Plathemis (whitetails) have been considered as synonyms of Libellula, subgenera, or separate genera by different authorities. Recent phylogenetic analysis has supported their status as either subgenera or full genera.