Species Enallagma weewa - Blackwater Bluet

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Blackwater Bluet - Enallagma weewa - female

Blackwater Bluet - Enallagma weewa - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Suborder Zygoptera (Damselflies)

Family Coenagrionidae (Narrow-winged Damselflies)

Genus Enallagma (American Bluets)

Species weewa (Blackwater Bluet)

Explanation of Names

Author is Byers, 1927. Species name weewa (or wewa) is, perhaps, a place name. Compare Wewahitchka, Florida.

Size

length 30-30 mm

Identification

Long, thin, and dark. Adult male is distinctive, with body mostly black and just abdominal segment nine blue. Female has distinctive pattern of black, blue, and brown stripes on thorax. Teneral male is similar to female (1) (2).

Range

Coastal Plain: Rhode Island, Long Island, New Jersey, south to Florida, west to Louisiana.

Habitat

Tannin-stained (blackwater) streams, sometimes lakes.

Season

June-September (New Jersey). February-November (Florida).

Remarks

Author of species is apparently Charles Francis Byers, whose notable works included Contribution to the Knowledge of Florida Odonata (1930). Obituary: Westfall, M.J., 1982, Charles Francis Byers, Odonatologica, 11(3):245-249 (referenced here).

See Also

Argia tibialis - Blue-tipped Dancer--male has similar pattern, but note abdominal segments 9 and 10 blue (just 9 in Blackwater Bluet)

Print References

Lam, p. 57 (1)

Dunkle, p. 118, fig. 88 (2)

Internet References

Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the United States--shows range

Works Cited

1.	Damselflies of the Northeast By Ed Lam

2.	Damselflies of Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas By Sidney W. Dunkle

Contributed by Giff Beaton on 25 February, 2006 - 8:45pm
Additional contributions by cotinis
Last updated 22 July, 2007 - 11:14pm

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