Blue Dasher

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Blue Dasher

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Anisoptera
Family: Libellulidae
Genus: Pachydiplax
Species: P. longipennis
Binomial name
Pachydiplax longipennis
(Burmeister, 1839)

The Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. It is common and widely distributed in the United States.[1]

This male's raised abdomen may be a threat display or a response to heat (the obelisk posture).
This male's raised abdomen may be a threat display or a response to heat (the obelisk posture).

Mature males develop a bluish-white pruinescence on the back of the abdomen and, in western individuals, on the thorax. They display this pruinescence to other males as a threat while defending territories at the edge of the water.[2]

Mature male with blue-white abdomen and thorax.
Mature male with blue-white abdomen and thorax.

Although the species name longipennis means "long wings", the wings are not particularly long. Females do, however, have a short abdomen that makes the wings look longer in comparison.[1]

[edit] References

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  1. ^ a b Needham, James G.; Minter J. Westfall, Jr. and Michael L. May (2000). Dragonflies of North America (rev. ed.). Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers, 762-763. ISBN 0-945417-94-2. 
  2. ^ Johnson, Clifford (1962). "A Study of Territoriality and Breeding Behavior in Pachydiplax longipennis Burmeister (Odonata:Libellulidae)". The Southwestern Naturalist 7 (3/4): 191–197. doi:10.2307/3668841. 
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