Blue Pirate

Description:

A small blue dragonfly with a white face, a black tip to the abdomen, and a black-and-yellow-striped thorax. Females are recognized by the narrow yellow parallel stripes on the abdomen. Both sexes have an amber patch at the base of each hind wing. Males develop a sky-blue (or Carolina-blue) abdomen when they approach maturity. Fully mature males are powdery blue with jade-green eyes.

Habitat:

Ponds, lakes, marshes, and bogs. Can be found almost anywhere there is still water. Larva is highly tolerant of wetlands with poor water quality and low dissolved-oxygen levels.

Notes:

Range: Much of the United States, and just edging into Canada. In the United States, absent from the Dakotas and the Rocky Mountain region. Range continues into Mexico.