Northern bluet

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5 - Secure
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Northern bluet is a common and widespread, early season, blue-type bluet. It occurs across North America from Quebec to Alaska south to Virginia and Baja Mexico, but is absent from the southeast and south-central United States. It is common in Minnesota. It is found from late May to mid-August in marshes, bogs, and fens, on seasonal pools in the spring, and on shallow ponds with much vegetation.

Northern bluet is a small damselfly but a medium-sized bluet. Adults are 1″ to 1 9⁄16″ (26 to 40 mm) in length.

The thorax of the male has a broad black stripe on the upper side, a broad blue stripe each side of the middle, thin black shoulder stripes, and entirely blue sides.

The abdomen is slender and mostly blue. This is the feature that identifies this damselfly as a blue-type bluet. Abdominal segments 2 through 5 are mostly blue, 6 and 7 are mostly black, and 8 and 9 are entirely blue.

The head is black. The compound eyes are blue. Two blue spots on top of the head, one behind each eye, are very large, almost touching the eye.

The wings have a narrow, stalk-like base. They are clear except for a single dark cell (stigma) near the tip. The stigma is short and diamond-shaped.

The legs are slender and relatively short.

On the female the thorax markings are similar to the male but the pale areas are pale blue to greenish-yellow. The upper side of the abdomen is mostly black. There is often a pair of pale spots on top of abdominal segment 8.

Size

Total length: 1″ to 1 9⁄16″ (26 to 40 mm)

Similar Species

Marshes, bogs, fens, vernal pools, shallow ponds

Season

Late May to mid-August

Behavior

Northern bluet, like all bluets, is a weak flier. It will fly a short distance from vegetation to capture prey. The wings are held over the body when at rest.

Life Cycle

The female deposits eggs on the water while in tandem with the male, or inserts eggs in the submerged stems of vegetation while the male perches nearby. While doing this she may remain underwater for up to 90 minutes. The larvae spend a year underwater. Late stage (instar) larvae overwinter. Adults emerge in the spring.

Larva Food/Hosts

Mosquito larvae, mayfly larvae, and other aquatic fly larvae

Adult Food

Tiny insects