Fun Blue-fronted Dancer Facts For Kids

The blue-fronted dancer is a type of damselfly which belongs to the order Odonata, family Coenagrionidae. This damselfly is mostly found in the United States of America and Mexico in the North American continent.

The Argia species are often confused with the Enallagma species. However, blue-fronted dancers can be identified by their tibiae and setae.

In addition to that, a powdered dancer damselfly looks a lot like the brown form of blue-fronted dancer females. However, counting the number of cells below the stigma in their wing will easily clarify the confusion between the brown form of the female blue-fronted dancer species and the powdered dancer species.

Powdered dancers are also less black in color than the brown form of female blue-fronted dancers. The bright blue color of the thorax on the males of this species often resembles a blue-tipped dancer.

They also have a charming flight pattern which makes it seem like blue-fronted dancers are actually dancing in a choreographed manner in the air. They use their brilliantly colored wings to flit, bounce, and flutter around. Keep reading for more interesting facts about the blue-fronted dancer!

If you liked this article about the blue-fronted dancer, also check out our other articles with amazing facts about the flower crab spider and green lynx spider.
 

Blue-Fronted Dancer Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a blue-fronted dancer?

The blue-fronted dancer (Argia apicalis) is a type of damselfly.

What class of animal does a blue-fronted dancer belong to?

The blue-fronted damsel (Argia apicalis) belongs to the Insecta class of animals.

How many blue-fronted dancers are there in the world?

According to scientific studies and references, the exact population of blue-fronted dancers (Argia apicalis) in the world has not yet been calculated by researchers.

Where does a blue-fronted dancer live?

The blue-fronted dancer (Argia apicalis) is native to the continent of North America. The distribution of this damselfly over the United States of America is quite large with its presence being noted in more than 35 states. These damselflies are also spotted in Mexico.

What is a blue-fronted dancer's habitat?

The preferred habitat of the blue-fronted dancer (Argia apicalis) is muddy areas near large rivers. They can also be found near other freshwater sources like lakes, rivers, and ponds. In addition to that, they can also be found in woodlands or large areas with no trees.

Who do blue-fronted dancers live with?

Not much is known about the social organization or behavior of the blue-fronted dancer damselfly which is found in the United States of America and Mexico. However, damselflies are known to hunt together in groups when they find an ant colony or termites nearby.

Adult males are very territorial and can be seen flying around their own area around rivers, ponds, lakes, or muddy regions while looking for prey.

How long does a blue-fronted dancer live?

The lifecycle of a male or female blue-fronted dancer damselfly lasts for around one to two years. However, they spend most of their lifespan as juvenile damselfly.

How do they reproduce?

While the mating season of blue-fronted dancers is not very clear, their breeding sites are usually over shallow water near a pond. The adult male and female can even mate during flight while clinging on to parts of weeds or vegetation.

Once the mating process is complete, females go into pond water and lay eggs on the submerged part of the vegetation. Once the female successfully lays the eggs, she crawls back up into the air and repeats the process.

There are no elaborate courtship rituals but the pair of male and female damselflies are often seen to be flying in tandem for an hour or so.

What is their conservation status?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the blue-fronted dancer (Argia apicalis) as Least Concern in its IUCN Red List.

Blue-Fronted Dancer Fun Facts

What do blue-fronted dancers look like?

Male and female damselflies have broad heads with large, bulging eyes. Their antennae are quite short and the adults have two pairs of wings which they can fold back. They also have hairy hind legs which they use to capture their prey during flight.

The face and thorax of the blue form of the adult male of this species are bright blue. In addition to the blue thorax and face, the abdomen of males is black in color.

They also have light blue circular marks on their joints along with a blue tip. The eyes of the blue-fronted dancer are dark blue in color.

A blue-fronted dancer female has two types of form, the blue form and the brown form which indicates what the primary color of the body of the female will be. Adult females, whether blue form or brown form, are less colorful than the males and have a less bright-colored body.

Blue-form female damselflies have an entirely blue-colored thorax like the male damselfly. The body of the brown form female is golden-brown or light brown in color including their wings, thorax, abdomen, and tip.

How cute are they?

The blue-fronted dancer damselfly species is very cute and charming. With their beautiful wing color and gracious movements, they truly look like they are dancing in the air while they are flying.

How do they communicate?

The damselfly is mostly known to communicate with the help of its bright colors. Apart from that, they also use their physical movements and gestures to communicate with each other.

How big is a blue-fronted dancer?

The average length of a blue-fronted dancer lies between the range of 1.3-1.6 in (33-40 mm).

The blue-fronted dancer is three times larger than a grasshopper which is usually 0.39 in (10 mm) in length.

How fast can blue-fronted dancers move?

Narrow-winged damselflies or blue-fronted dancer species can fly pretty fast like most dragonflies. In general, an adult damselfly has a flying speed of 4.9 ft  (1.5 m) per second with 16 wing beats per second.

How much does a blue-fronted dancer weigh?

The blue-fronted dancer has a small body and is very lightweight. According to some studies, the average weight of the body of adults lies between the range of 0.0011-0.0016 oz (0.03-0.04 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no separate, unique names for the male and female types of the Argia apicalis (blue-fronted dancer) species. They are referred to as male or female blue-fronted dancers.

What would you call a baby blue-fronted dancer?

A baby or juvenile blue-fronted dancer is called a nymph or a naiad. A nymph damselfly is just a smaller, immature version of the later adult stage. These naiads are aquatic predators and they live in water while breathing through their gills. Once they shed their exoskeleton, they convert into mature  adult male or female Argia apicalis.

What do they eat?

The Argia apicalis (blue-fronted dancer) has a diet mainly comprising insects and worms. Damselfly nymphs stay in the water but often climb up hunting for insects. The larvae of this damselfly eat the hopper nymph which is very harmful to rice crops.

Are they poisonous?

Argia apicalis (blue-fronted dancers) are not known to be poisonous or harmful to human beings in any way.

Would they make a good pet?

Argia apicalis (blue-fronted dancer) would not make a good pet. Since these narrowly winged damselflies prefer to live in the wild in their own habitat, they cannot be kept in captivity as a pet.

This bright blue member of the Argia species does not possess any pet-like qualities either. They are also quite fragile and sensitive and may not be able to sustain human touch.

Did you know...

Argia apicalis (blue-fronted dancer) was described in 1840 for the first time by Thomas Say, an American zoologist.

What are blue-fronted dancers good for?

Blue-fronted damselflies are extremely beneficial for gardens and agricultural fields. They are a part of the Argia species who are expert predators who help control the population of harmful insects. Adult damselflies eat flies, mosquitoes, beetles, caterpillars, and moths, helping to curb the spread of these insects.

Do blue-fronted dancers bite?

Blue-fronted dancers are not known to sting or bite human beings. They are quite harmless and are beneficial to the environment.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods from our whip spider and southern house spider facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Blue fronted dancer coloring pages.