Variable Dancer
Argia fumipennis
Male Variable Dancers are famous for their brilliant violet-blue coloration, but females are highly 'variable', ranging from dull brown to vibrant blue.
- Scientific name
- Argia fumipennis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Odonata › Coenagrionidae › Argia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Slow-moving streams, rivers, ponds, and marshy wetlands with dense emergent vegetation.
- Diet
- Carnivorous (insectivore), preying on mosquitoes, gnats, flies, and other small aerial insects.
- Range
- North America, United States, Eastern Canada
- Size
- 29 to 37 mm in body length
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 months as adults; up to 1 year including the aquatic nymph stage
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Water pollution, wetland drainage, and excessive pesticide runoff that destroys their insect food source.
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless to humans. They do not bite or sting. You can safely observe them from inches away as they perch on shoreline vegetation. If one lands on you, remain still to enjoy a close-up view.
The variable dancer ( Argia fumipennis ) is a damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread throughout the east and present in the interior western United States.
Photo: Melissa McMasters, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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