Stream Bluet Damselfly


Stream Bluet Damselfly
Enallagma exsulans

Stream Bluet Damselfly - Enallagma exsulans

Live adult damselflies photographed at DuPage County, Illinois, USA

Order Odonata / Suborder Zygoptera / Family Coenagrionidae — narrow-winged damselflies

Stream Bluet Damselfly mated pair

Dragonflies and Damselflies date back 300 million years, to the Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic Era. Today, there are about 450 North American species, and 5,000 in all.

Eastern Pondhawk DragonflyThis female Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly is dining on Bluet Damselfly

They have evolved in to highly efficient hunters; their freely moveable heads sport huge compound eyes — in the case of the dragonfly, the eyes nearly cover the entire head.

Their sharp biting mouthparts, coupled with their four powerful, independent wings make them extremely agile flyers capable of snatching prey in midair.

Odonata Index | Dragonflies | Damselflies

Tree Encyclopedia / North American Insects & Spiders

Online since 2002