A Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly (Argia apicalis) was spotted during a photowalk with Michael Powell near Mulligan Pond at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge (JMAWR), Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
18 AUG 2020 | JMAWR | Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis)
A. apicalis has “a blue form female and a brown form female.” Since neither the hamules nor terminal appendages can be seen clearly in the preceding photo, I’m unsure whether this individual is male or female.
Post Update
Michael Ready, good friend and fellow member of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas, shared the following comment via e-mail.
That’s an outstanding picture of a Blue-fronted Dancer. You state you are unsure of the individual’s gender. I am confident that it is a male. According to my field guides (Lam and Paulson), the blue-form female lacks the blue eyes and blue S8-10 that are apparent in your picture. Source Credit: Michael Ready.
Thanks for the kind words and helpful information, Michael! As it turns out, the field marks that you described are shown clearly in one of my blog posts: Blue-fronted Dancers (male, female), especially this photo.
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly, Family Coenagrionidae, hamules, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Mulligan Pond, Narrow-winged Damselflies, terminal appendages
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September 1, 2020 at 1:14 pm |
Excellent photograph of a beautiful damsel!
Playing catch up after a busy couple of weeks. I really liked your notes on the last post with the Great Blue Skimmer concerning your camera and macro techniques.