General: Powdered Dancers (Argia moesta) are small, blue, damselflies. The dark stripe on the top of the thorax is straight and narrow, and the shoulder strip is unforked and quite narrow except for a wide spot towards the back. Some females look like males, but others are tan where the makes are blue.
These active creatures are harmless to humans, but they are voracious predators of small flying insects such as flies and mosquitoes. There are some good places for Watching Damselflies Around Las Vegas.
Taxonomy: Order Odonata, Suborder Zygoptera, Family Coenagrionidae.
Where to Find: Powdered Dancers occur throughout the southwest. Around Las Vegas, Powdered Dancers are uncommon around bodies of water such as springs at Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead, and lakes such as those at Sunset Park and the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. |