Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#56983
Damselfly - Argia sedula - male

Damselfly - Argia sedula - Male
Sedona, Arizona, USA
What species is this? Blue-ringed Dancer?

Moved
Moved from Dancers.

An answer from Kathy Biggs
"Well, the truth is that not all Dancers can be identified from a photo!
Most of the images you linked look like Blue-ringed Dancers, but I'm not expert on Dancers, and esp. not when you throw in the TX species!
A lot of folks are now doing this:
Take a photo of the species in the habitat.
Net it. Take in-hand photos of all body parts, including appendages VERY CLOSE UP.
Then release it.
Just last week that happened, and it was not only a new species for CA, but only the 2nd spot where it has been found in US! It is the Baja Bluet.
Sorry I can't help more here."

Moved
Moved from Blue-ringed Dancer. All the Blue-ringed we have seen have a wide black shoulder stripe. With this narrower forked black shoulder stripe, we are guessing this is another of those dozens of pesky southwestern Argia. We'll move it back to Argia and hope someone from that area can straighten us out on these.
See for possible female.

Moved

Well we looked through
every Argia (we think) on Kathy Biggs site here. Whew, what a job with all those southwestern Argia. It's a whole lot easier in the midwest! Anyway there didn't seem to be any other Argia like this but the Blue-Ringed Dancer. So this is to confirm your ID, and we'll move it to the guide. We did not find any reference to a blue form female Blue-ringed, however, so we're thinking your other image is a female from another Argia species, and with so many to choose among...

Blue-ringed was our first thought
but we would expect a much broader black thoracic shoulder stripe. Wonder if this is one of those strange Southwestern species that we never get to see. Hope someone will come up with a firm ID. We're curious now!