Violet Dancer

I know I posted a Violet Dancer picture fairly recently, but I liked the way this picture came out. You can see the vibrant color, and the little fella is even looking at the camera.

The Violet Dancer isn't actually a species; it's a subspecies of the Variable Dancer. Generally I'm in favor of using subspecies when different populations of a species look quite a bit different from one another, and that's the case for the Variable Dancer. The Black Dancer and the Smoky-winged Dancer do look quite a bit different from the Violet Dancer despite being able to breed with one another.

Dancers were named by people impressed with their flying skills; it is highly unlikely that one will dance the Hokey Pokey with you.

June 17, 2021 at the Plainsboro Preserve
Photo 141974717, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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