Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (female, oviposition, in flight)
Libellula vibrans
38.7577, -77.0984
Field Notes
Description:
A female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly laying eggs by the process of oviposition. The dragonfly skims the water repeatedly, picking up drops of water that are used to flick fertilized eggs toward the shore. The process typically lasts a few seconds to a few minutes. Related Resource: Oviparity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviparity
Habitat:
Huntley Meadows Park, a 1,425 acre wetland area in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. Related Resource: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/huntley/
Notes:
It is estimated a dragonfly flaps its wings at about 30 beats per second. I shot the preceding photos at an aperture of f/4.7 and a shutter speed of 1/1,300 second -- a little too slow to stop wing motion completely.
Species ID Suggestions
Spotted for Missions
Photographed
PublishedSeptember 26, 2013
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment
Sign in to comment