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azure bluet
azure bluet (Enallagma aspersum) [female]
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey
azure bluet (Enallagma aspersum) [male]
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
The azure bluet is slender with more blue on the tip of the abdomen, making it distinguishable from other damselflies. Behind-the-eye spots are large, connecting to the blue color on the back of the head in males; spots are yellow to green in females. The males have blue eyes with a reduced black cap while females have black and brown eyes. The thorax is blue with a black middle stripe and narrower black stripes on the sides. The male upper abdomen is primarily black, with blue sides at the base and tip. A large blue spot on the segment closest to the tip of the tail can distinguish females.
BEHAVIOR
Males typically perch on vegetation at the water’s edge or fly low over the surface of the water. Mating occurs for ten to 20 minute duration, in pairs on surface vegetation. The females lay eggs solo, submerged underwater, while the males linger nearby. They are found in varying sizes of fishless ponds and lakes with emerging vegetation, especially in small boggy ponds where it can be the only population of common bluets. Azure bluets are known to quickly colonize newer or recently formed wetlands. They are found throughout Illinois and most of the Eastern United States as far south as the upper third of Georgia.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Coenagrionidae
Illinois Status: common, native
