English name:  Long Skimmer

Like all members of the skimmer family, the male Lake Skimmer also tends to stand in a conspicuous place for long hours, usually at the same lookout point to which it will return even if disturbed. While standing like this, it waits for a female to pass through its territory.
 Members of the genus Orthetrum tend to stand on 4 legs, with the front pair of legs folded behind the head.

Size:  Large (5-7 cm).
Habitat:  Large lakes with riparian vegetation.
Its main prey are other dragonflies, but sometimes other large insects such as butterflies.

Distribution:  Across Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, the Middle East (as far as Iran in the east), Greece, and most of the Mediterranean islands.

Fairly common in Israel.

Identification marks:
Male-  The males' light blue color comes from a bluish powder that covers their bodies when they mature. In this species, the powder covers only the first through third abdominal segments.
The rest of the male's body is dark blue. From the fourth segment onward, the abdomen becomes very narrow.
The eye is blue.

The young resembles the female, and its eye color is beige.

Female-  Resembles the male in body shape and abdomen.
The thorax is yellow with black stripes on the sides.
The abdomen is white and black.
The eye is bluish.
 

Similar species:
Male - has a unique appearance and is unmistakable.
Female - at first glance may be confused with Beaded Skimmer.