The orange bluet (''Enallagma signatum'') is a species of
damselfly
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Coenagrionidae
The insect family Coenagrionidae is placed 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 species are in this family, maki ...
.
Identification
This species of
bluet stands out from many other bluets because of its orange color. On male orange bluets, the thorax is orange with a thick, black stipe along the back and black shoulder stripes. His abdomen is mostly black with some orange rings, orange below, and orange near the tip. His large eyes are orange on a black head; small orange postocular spots are connected across the back of the head by an orange bar. On female orange bluets, the thorax is similar looking to the male thorax only the color is dull yellow instead of orange. Her abdomen is mostly black above and dull yellow below. Her large eyes are yellow-brown with small yellow postocular spots connected by a thin, yellow bar. The female can also be one of three forms. The first remains blue throughout life, one becomes green and the third becomes orange.
Habitat
This bluet is often found near streams, ponds, pools with still waters, slow moving streams, and rivers.
Distribution
*
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
:
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
[
*]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
: (Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
• Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
• • New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
• Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
• Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...
)
*Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
: (New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...
)
Size
The orange bluet is small with an average length of 1 to 1.5 inches (25–38 mm). Its hindwing is 15–21 mm long.
Diet
Orange bluets feed on insects. Their flight pattern is slow, moving in and out of emergent vegetation.
Habits
The orange bluet may perch on rock, foliage, water lilies, other emergent vegetation, and on the bare ground along the shore with wings together.
Similar species
Orange bluets are similar to cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus '' Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The ...
, burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
, and scarlet
Scarlet may refer to:
* Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England
* Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth
* Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color
* ...
bluets. All three bluets are red not orange. General vesper bluets are similar, but the black humeral stripe is either lacking or narrowly reduced in that species. Threadtail damselflies are orange and are found alongside the orange bluet, but they will have much longer and thinner abdomens. Their abdomens are twice as long as the length of their wings. It also looks similar to the Florida bluet which is orange in color, but males have shorter and stubbier cerci.
Reproduction
Orange bluet females will posture their unwillingness to mate. Females stay a distance from the water and are often not encountered except in copula or tandem. After mating, the pairs will begin laying eggs in floating vegetation or debris, with the male often accompanying his partner underwater. The female will remain underwater, ovipositing in the traditional manner for up to 20 minutes at a time.
Flight Season
The orange bluet has a long flight season. It is from early March to early November. This bluet is unusual in that it is most active in the late afternoon.
References
NHL Orange BluetOdonata CentralEnallagma signatum (Orange Bluet)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q141329
Coenagrionidae
Odonata of North America
Insects of Canada
Insects of Mexico
Insects of the United States
Insects described in 1861
Taxa named by Hermann August Hagen