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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Damselflies (Zygoptera) » Narrow-winged Damselflies (Coenagrionidae) » Sprites (Nehalennia) » Everglades Sprite (Nehalennia pallidula)
Photo#1027159
Blackwater Bluet - Nehalennia pallidula - female
Copyright © 2014 Mary Kay Rubey

Blackwater Bluet - Nehalennia pallidula - Female
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA
November 24, 2014
I think this is a female Blackwater Bluet. She has a small vulvar spine, which may not show in this small photo. She was on the railing of the swamp boardwalk behind the visitor's center at Loxahatchee NWR, not far from the Loxahatchee River. Can anyone confirm my tentative ID? I haven't had much luck finding pictures of females online for comparison to this individual. She appears to be a very good match for the photo in Paulson's "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East." That's all I have to go by. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Contributed by Mary Kay Rubey on 16 December, 2014 - 4:50pm
Last updated 17 December, 2014 - 4:08pm

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Greg W. Lasley, 17 December, 2014 - 4:08pm login or register to post comments

Nehalennia pallidula
I'd have a hard time seeing this lovely little lady as anything but Everglades Sprite. Nehalennia pallidula is one of the most common damselflies in Palm Beach County, at least based on my tiny corner of it. I'm fairly sure I've seen them at the Lox NWR as well.
… Ben Kolstad, 17 December, 2014 - 12:34pm login or register to post comments

 
I agree. Everglades Sprite do
I agree. Everglades Sprite does, indeed, seem to match everything I'm seeing in this individual. Thanks.
… Mary Kay Rubey, 17 December, 2014 - 1:59pm login or register to post comments

 
makes sense.
makes sense.
… Greg W. Lasley, 17 December, 2014 - 4:07pm login or register to post comments

odd mix of features
I agree the presence of what appears to be a vulvar spine suggests Enallagma. I doubt that the position of the wings is always a good field mark - a slightly dipped abdomen could easily explain that. The apparent absence of blue spots on the back of the eyes points to Argia.
I can't offer an opinion on what it is.
… Larry de March, 17 December, 2014 - 9:27am login or register to post comments

I don't think it is an Enalla
I don't think it is an Enallagma. The leg spines are too long for that genus. Also, the wings carried well above the abdomen suggests Argia. The only shots I have of Blackwater Bluet are male, but I just don't think it is that species. The thorax pattern is indeed interesting and I don't think I can ID it for sure, but hopefully someone else can offer some thoughts.
… Greg W. Lasley, 17 December, 2014 - 8:40am login or register to post comments

 
Greg, That was someone els
Greg,

That was someone else's initial impression, but the vulvar spine rules out Argia.
… Mary Kay Rubey, 17 December, 2014 - 9:09am login or register to post comments

 
It is interesting and I could
It is interesting and I could be totally wrong. The leg spines, to me, seem too long for Enallagma. Typically the space between the spines is greater than the length of the spines in Enallagma and in Argia the space between the spines is less than the spine length. I'll see if I can get some other knowledgeable folks to look.
… Greg W. Lasley, 17 December, 2014 - 9:35am login or register to post comments

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