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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Damselflies (Zygoptera) » Narrow-winged Damselflies (Coenagrionidae) » Dancers (Argia) » Blue-ringed Dancer (Argia sedula)

Species Argia sedula - Blue-ringed Dancer

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Blue-ringed Dancer - Argia sedula - male

Blue-fronted dancer? Or a spreadwing? View 2 - Argia sedula - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Suborder Zygoptera (Damselflies)

Family Coenagrionidae (Narrow-winged Damselflies)

Genus Argia (Dancers)

Species sedula (Blue-ringed Dancer)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Argia sedula (Hagen, 1861)

Explanation of Names

Species name is from Latin sedulus, meaning zealously (Internet searches).

Size

Length 31-36 mm

Identification

Male has black abdomen with blue rings. Resembles a bluet, but abdominal segment 2 mostly black, has wide black, forked, shoulder stripe. Thorax of male darkens during tandem oviposition. Some southern populations have slight tinting in wings. Female is brown, rather weakly marked.

Range

southern two-thirds of US, with a small "hump" in the northeast that reaches into southern Ontario and Michigan

more common southward in east

Habitat

Rivers, streams, lakes, ditches with aquatic vegetation. Perch often on vegetation in shade, unlike most other dancers (1).

Season

March-November (Texas); June-October (Virginia); June-September (Ontario)

Food

Predatory on small insects

Life Cycle

Oviposit in tandem into aquatic vegetation.

Print References

Abbott, pp. 83-85, photo 10d (1)

Dunkle, Damselflies of Florida, p. 89, figs. 66-67 (2)

Lam, p. 49 (3)

Nikula, p. 67 (4)

Internet References

TAMU

RLE Photo

NJ Odes

Odonata Central--Texas

Works Cited

1.	Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States John C. Abbott. 2005. Princeton University Press.

2.	Damselflies of Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas Sidney W. Dunkle. 1991. Scientific Publishers.

3.	Damselflies of the Northeast Ed Lam. 2004. Biodiversity Books.

4.	Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies Donald and Lillian Stokes. 2002. Little, Brown and Company.

Contributed by Cotinis on 9 March, 2004 - 4:30pm
Additional contributions by Mike Boone, Robin McLeod
Last updated 10 July, 2010 - 9:58am

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