Species Spotlight: Blue-ringed Dancer

We turn our attention now to a damselfly with beautifully brilliant colors—the Blue-ringed Dancer. This species is widespread in the midwest and along the east coast, but also extends into Arizona and Southern California, which is where we see it. Here's the range map, from OdonataCentral.



One of the best places to find this species, at least in Arizona, is perched on a rock in the middle of a swiftly-flowing stream, as in the photos below:





Identification is easy for this species, with the prominent blue rings along the middle sections of the abdomen. Also be sure to take a look at the thorax and head, where the rich blue colors are particularly vivid:





Notice the tendency of this species to hold the folded wings well above the abdomen when perched—a characteristic of most dancer species. In fact, you can usually tell a dancer from quite a distance just by seeing how it holds its wings. In addition, dancers tend to "flick" their wings open and shut a time or two just after landing.

One individual, seen at the Gilbert Water Ranch in Gilbert, AZ, had a weird looking face. It was kind of pink. At first it brought to mind a scene from the 1958 movie The Fly, where the hero's body has been mixed up with that of a fly during a teleporter experiment—he now has the head of a fly, and the fly has a human head. They try to find the mixed-up fly by looking in the garden for one that has a pink head. Here are some posters and photos from the movie:









Well, that was a terrifying movie for a youngster back in those days. Fortunately, the case I encountered at the Water Ranch wasn't like that at all—it was just a damselfly with a lot of pink on the head. I got closer, and finally had a better look. Here's what was going on with this individual:



Wow, one eye blue, the other pink. You don't see that everyday! Searching the bushes for a damselfly with a pink head sure made me think about the The Fly, though.

Species Spotlight: American Rubyspot

Next up in our species spotlight series is a damselfly with colorful wings, which is a bit unusual for damselflies.

The American Rubyspot is named for the ruby-colored patches at the base of its wings. You can see the patches in the following photo of a male perched above a small stream—its preferred habitat. To its left is a Blue-ringed Dancer, showing off its intense blue colors. What a contrast in colors this pair makes.

Here's a bit closer view of a male American Rubyspot.

Notice the white wings veins in the ruby patch.

The American Rubyspot uses its wing patches to attract females, and to fend off rivals. In the next photo a male flashes its patches to ward off another damselfly (a California Dancer in this case) that was attempting to land on its perch. Notice that it is also bending the tip of its abdomen forward in a very threatening posture.

The brilliant colors and aggressive pose was effective at convincing the California Dancer to find another perch.

The Blue-ringed Dancer

Blue-ringed Dancer (male) at the Gilbert Water Ranch

One of the most photogenic damselflies is the Blue-ringed Dancer.  This male is perched on a rock in a swiftly flowing stream, the Blue-ringed preferred habitat.  I love the intense colors, especially in the head and thorax.

Notice how the wings are held completely above the abdomen; this is characteristic of dancers as a group.  In contrast, bluets tend to hold their wings folded along their abdomen.