Marsh bluet
The marsh bluet is a damselfly species in the family Coenagrionidae.
Description
- Adult – Male marsh bluets have a blue thorax with a broad black stripe above and has two black shoulder stripes. Its slender abdomen is mostly blue with black marks along the top and with a black tip. The large eyes are dark blue-black with small, tear-shaped postocular spots. The thorax of the female is similar to the male only its tan or blue-green and black instead of blue and black. Its abdomen is mostly black above and tan or blue-green below. Its large eyes are brown and yellowish.
- Naiad – The naiad is small about in length. It has the typical slender shape of an immature damselfly. The naiad is light to dark brown in color.
Habitat
Marsh bluets are usually found near lowland lakes, ponds, and marshes, and has a definite preference for alkaline waters.Diet
- Naiad – They eat a wide variety of aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae, mayfly larvae, and other aquatic fly larvae.
- Adult – Adult bluets eat a wide variety of small soft-bodied flying insects, such as mosquitoes, mayflies, flies and small moths. They sometimes pick small insects such as aphids from plants.
Size
It is a smaller species of bluets, with a size of in length.Distribution
- United States
- Canada