The marsh bluet (''Enallagma ebrium'') is a

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies (which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Epiprocta) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the win ...

species in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Coenagrionidae Coenagrionidae is a family of damselflies, also known as pond damselflies, in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 spec ...

Description

*Adult – Male marsh bluets have a blue thorax with a broad black stripe above and has two black shoulder stripes. Its slender abdomen is mostly blue with black marks along the top and with a black tip. The large eyes are dark blue-black with small, tear-shaped postocular spots. The thorax of the female is similar to the male only its tan or blue-green and black instead of blue and black. Its abdomen is mostly black above and tan or blue-green below. Its large eyes are brown and yellowish. *Naiad – The naiad is small about in length. It has the typical slender shape of an immature damselfly. The naiad is light to dark brown in color.

Habitat

Marsh bluets are usually found near lowland lakes, ponds, and marshes, and has a definite preference for alkaline waters.

Diet

*Naiad – They eat a wide variety of aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae, mayfly larvae, and other aquatic fly larvae. *Adult – Adult bluets eat a wide variety of small soft-bodied flying insects, such as mosquitoes, mayflies, flies and small moths. They sometimes pick small insects such as aphids from plants.

Size

It is a smaller species of bluets, with a size of in length.Lam, E. (2004) Damselflies of the Northeast. Forest Hills, NY:Biodiversity Books, p. 74.

Distribution

*United States (

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Habits

Marsh bluets perch occasionally on vegetation in the area with the wings together. Their flight pattern is slow. They dart in and out of emergent vegetation.

Flight season

The marsh bluet is active early June to early September.

Ecology

Marsh bluets are very common at alkaline marshes in mid-summer.

Reproduction

Males set up territories at choice breeding sites. After males and females mate, the female oviposits, or lays her eggs, either singly or in tandem with the male. They will descend as much as a foot under the water to oviposit in aquatic vegetation.

Similar species

The marsh bluet looks similar to the Hagen's bluet and the familiar bluet.

References

NHL Marsh BluetEnallagma ebrium (Marsh Bluet)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q142583 Coenagrionidae Odonata of North America Insects of Canada Insects of the United States Fauna of the Eastern United States Fauna of the Western United States Insects described in 1861