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Northern Bluet

Enallagma annexum

Description:

Northern Bluet is a common and widespread bluet across much of North America. Its range was once thought to include northern Eurasia, but recent genetic studies (Turgeon et al. 2005) showed that Eurasian and North American populations separated about 250,000 years ago and should now be considered separate species. The Eurasian Bluet goes by the name Enallagma cyathigerum — which was the name given to the combined group (e.g., Manolis 2003) — but now that they are split, the North American bluet is Enallagma annexum. The photo below illustrates that an abdomen can be very flexible (all bluets can do contortions).



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5 Comments

Geodialist
Geodialist 9 months ago

I saw your comment this morning, Emma ... it's gone now. I'll say this: Odonates need love too! ;-) Speaking of love, this is -- as you no doubt know -- a mating pair of damselflies. They are "in wheel," sometimes referred to as "in heart" when damselflies are mating. Nice photos -- damselflies are so small that DSLR cameras/lenses won't autofocus sometimes!

Hemma
Hemma 9 months ago

thanks next to gone.

nexttogone
nexttogone 9 months ago

Great series!

Hemma
Hemma 9 months ago

Not a bad idea! are you a jewelry designer?I find the heart shape quite fascinating too. Remarkably flexible bodies!
This lake is swarming with Dragonflies right now. Especially these bluets.
After a month each and every dragon fly will disappear and the lake will be totally empty of them. this is when the Cormorants and Herons come in.

xiaoyuejieya
xiaoyuejieya 9 months ago

They were just like a heart shape, awesome ! May I design a series of jewelry for them?

Tulare, California, USA

Lat: 36.70, Long: -118.76

Spotted on Aug 30, 2012
Submitted on Aug 30, 2012

Reference

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