Blue-faced Meadowhawk
Sympetrum ambiguum
Summary 6
The blue-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae.
Range description 7
This species occurs in Canada and the United States of America.
Description 8
The aqua blue face of the blue-faced, green/turquoise when dead, meadowhawk may not be obvious to a casual observer, but is an important field mark distinguishing it from similar-looking meadowhawks in the genus Sympetrum, such as Sympetrum vicinum. This small dragonfly reaches a maximum total length of 38 mm. The thorax is grayish or olive brown. A mature male has a bright red abdomen, with black stripes; in females and juveniles, it remains brown. Both genders have six black rings on their abdomens.
They can be found from summer through fall in Midwest North America close to water sources.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Vicki DeLoach, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7327719@N06/6140135720
- (c) summerazure, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6426116579_cf12fa4c76_b.jpg
- (c) Eric Isley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/10875866885_85b84fd79a_o.jpg
- (c) Eric Isley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/10876003444_5a1f61bbe6_o.jpg
- (c) Vijay Barve, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Vijay Barve
- Adapted by Allie Hay from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympetrum_ambiguum
- Adapted by Allie Hay from a work by (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31277397
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympetrum_ambiguum
