Tule Bluet

Enallagma carunculatum

The Tule Bluet is a small, beautiful dragonfly with bright blue colors. They love to flutter around wetlands and ponds, making them fun to watch as they zip through the air.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Tule Bluet is a small, slender damselfly typically deep blue and black. Males have striking blue markings on their thorax and abdomen, often with a distinct "teardrop" shaped spot on the side of the second abdominal segment. Their large, widely spaced eyes are also blue.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderOdonataFamilyCoenagrionidaeGenusEnallagma

Tule Bluet

Interesting facts

Adult Tule Bluets only live for a few weeks, making every sunny day an adventure!

After hatching, a Tule Bluet naiad sheds its skin many times as it gets bigger.

Males have a special blue spot on their belly that helps females recognize them for mating.

Their babies live underwater for months, growing and hunting before they can fly!

Special abilities

Tule Bluet can swiftly catch tiny flying insects with its spiky legs that act like a basket.

Its young (naiads) can breathe underwater using feathery gills at the end of their abdomen.

Tule Bluets can fly forward, backward, and hover silently to ambush unsuspecting prey.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 30-40 mm
Size: 25-33 mm
Lifespan: 14-28 days
Flight Speed: 7 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Tiny predators, Tule Bluets feast on smaller insects found near water.

Age differences: Young Tule Bluets (naiads) hunt aquatic insect larvae and small crustaceans underwater.

Primary Foods

mosquitoes
gnats
small flies
aphids
mayflies

Foraging Method

Pursuit

Ecological connections

hunts

Mosquito

Culex pipiens

Tule Bluets prey on flying mosquitoes.

eaten by

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus

Adult Tule Bluets can be a meal for hungry frogs.

eaten by

Mosquitofish

Gambusia affinis

Fish often eat Tule Bluet naiads underwater.

eaten by

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Birds snatch flying adult damselflies.

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.