Blue-ringed Dancer

Argia sedula

The Blue-ringed Dancer is a beautiful dragonfly with bright blue rings on its body. It loves to dance around water and is often seen flitting over ponds and streams.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Blue-ringed Dancer is a slender damselfly with a striking metallic blue body and distinct black markings. Males display vibrant sky-blue rings on a mostly black abdomen, contrasting with their clear, delicate wings. Females are often duller, appearing yellowish-brown or greenish-tan.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyCoenagrionidaeGenusArgia

Blue-ringed Dancer

Interesting facts

Baby Blue-ringed Dancers live underwater for months, breathing through feathery gills on their tails!

Males perform a special 'courtship dance' to impress females before they decide to lay eggs!

They are incredible mosquito hunters, helping to keep those pesky biting bugs away from you!

Unlike dragonflies, these dancers hold their wings neatly together over their backs when resting!

Special abilities

Blue-ringed Dancer has massive compound eyes that help them spot tiny flying insects from far away, even behind them.

Blue-ringed Dancer can dart, hover, and fly backward using four independent wings, helping them catch prey and escape predators with ease.

Blue-ringed Dancer has bright blue rings on its abdomen that help males attract mates and also identify others of their own kind.

Blue-ringed Dancer larvae live underwater and breathe through gills on their tail, helping them survive and grow in ponds and streams.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 45-70 mm
Size: 28-38 mm
Lifespan: 30-60 days
Flight Speed: 18 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Tiny hunters, they feast on small flying insects like mosquitoes and gnats!

Age differences: Larvae (nymphs) eat aquatic insects and small invertebrates; adults hunt flying insects.

Primary Foods

mosquitoes
gnats
small flies
midges

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

hunts

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

Helps control mosquito numbers near freshwater.

eaten by

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus

Adult damselflies are a tasty snack for bullfrogs.

eaten by

Yellow Perch

Perca flavescens

Its aquatic nymphs are eaten by various fish.

eaten by

Common Green Darner

Anax junius

Larger dragonflies will sometimes prey on them.

Traits

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.