Familiar Bluet

Enallagma civile

The Familiar Bluet is a small, beautiful dragonfly with bright blue colors. They love to fly around ponds and streams, showing off their lovely wings.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Familiar Bluet is a slender damselfly, vibrantly blue with distinct black markings on its abdomen. It has two small, bright blue spots behind its large eyes and clear wings that it holds together over its back when at rest, differentiating it from dragonflies.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyCoenagrionidaeGenusEnallagma

Familiar Bluet

Interesting facts

Baby bluets, called nymphs, live underwater for months before transforming.

Damselflies are ancient insects, flying since before the dinosaurs roamed!

Their delicate wings sparkle in the sun, made of tiny clear veins.

They mate in a unique 'wheel' formation, sometimes called a 'heart' shape!

Special abilities

Familiar Bluet larvae can breathe underwater using gills that helps them hunt other tiny aquatic creatures.

Familiar Bluets can dart and hover quickly because of their two pairs of independently moving wings that helps them catch flying insects.

Familiar Bluets have huge compound eyes that helps them spot tiny prey insects from far away.

Familiar Bluets appear vibrantly blue because of special pigments that helps them attract mates and define their territory.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 30-50 mm
Size: 25-40 mm
Lifespan: 15-30 days
Flight Speed: 5-10 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

This tiny hunter eats small flying insects and aquatic creatures.

Age differences: Larvae are aquatic predators, adults are aerial predators.

Primary Foods

mosquitoes
gnats
midges
small flies
aquatic insect larvae

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

hunts

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

Helps control populations of nuisance mosquitoes.

eaten by

Green Frog

Lithobates clamitans

A common amphibian predator of adult bluets.

eaten by

Mosquitofish

Gambusia affinis

Eats bluet larvae in aquatic environments.

eaten by

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Insect-eating bird that catches adult damselflies.

shelters

White Water Lily

Nymphaea odorata

Rests on and lays eggs near aquatic plants.

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.