BLUE-FRONTED DANCER Argia apicalis

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF WEST VIRGINIA SPECIES PAGE

The Dancers are a group of damselflies named for their bouncy, dance-like flight. Dancers are notable for often perching on the ground. They may also be seen perching on rocks, logs, and sidewalks, and may also rest on plants.

The species shown here, Blue-Fronted Dancer, is a beautiful species that really can be mistaken for no other species in our region, save one. The blue form of the female Powdered Dancer may resemble the male Blue-Fronted Dancer, but note that the female Powdered Dancers do not have blue on the tip of their abdomens, while the male Blue-Fronted Dancers do.

The mature male's thorax resembles a faceted gemstone, with only the thinnest of black lines separating the various regions of the thorax. On the rear of the abdomen, segments eight, nine, and ten are blue.

Females and immature males can be a little tricky to identify, and resemble the females and immature males of other species of Dancers. To complicate matters, as with several other species of Dancers so with the Blue-Fronted there are two female color forms. The blue form female has a blue thorax and looks similar to the male but without a blue tip on the abdomen. The brown form looks similar to other various other female Dancer species. The photos below show what to look for to separate female Blue-Fronted Dancers from females of other species.

In a number of mountain counties Blue-Fronted Dancers have not been collected, but otherwise from May to September this species may be seen in most areas of West Virginia.

The face and eyes of the Blue-Fronted Dancer are mostly blue, as is the thorax.

At first glance it appears there are four eyespots, but the front two are not discrete spots, instead continuing into the coloration of the face.

This is the brown form female. The top of the abdomen appears mostly black (just a very thin pale line there) and on segment nine there are some noteable dark areas on the top and sides.

The face of females is much like that of the males, except (on the brown form females) it is brown instead of blue. This female is finishing off a tidbit.

More Photos of this Species Blue Form Female Mating Wheel

All images on this page are © Stephen Cresswell.

This site is sponsored by Stephen Cresswell Photography.