General: Vivid Dancers (Argia vivida) are small damselflies. In adult males, the overall color is blue with some black. The dark stripe on the top of the thorax is urn shaped (wider at the top, narrower at the bottom). The black shoulder stripe is wide-narrow-wide (wider towards the front and back, and pinched in the middle). The abdomen is blue with black rings and triangle-shaped spots on the sides. Females are similar, except brown where males 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. |