Juvenile Male Blue Dasher
Blue Dasher Dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis)
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.
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.
Male and female Blue Dashers are marked differently. However, young males are marked like females and change into a typical male coloration as they reach adulthood.
BugGuide has an excellent Blue Dasher resource page with dozens of photo showing various stages of male and female development.
Female Blue Dasher Dragonfly
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