Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (female, oviposition, in flight)

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/huntl...

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.