Violet/Variable Dancers

 I saw a bunch of Variable Dancers 1 day last summer. Perhaps if you heard that someone saw variable dancers, you might think they saw several dancers of different abilities. But in the naturalist world it means damselflies, and in my area the Variable Dancers are likely to be Violet Dancers [1].

Here are 2 of the male and (presumably) 1 of the female Violet Dancers. While some young adult odonate males look similar to females until pruinose builds up on their abdomen/thorax, it sounds like the violet color of the males does not come from pruinose. I believe this means that brown individuals like the 1 in the last picture are always going to be females rather than a mix of males without their mature coloring plus females.

July 3, 2023 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 301258933, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

July 3, 2023 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 301259599, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

July 3, 2023 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 301259625, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] No relation to me.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tussock Moth Herd

Copper Underwing Caterpillar

Eastern Pondhawks