The blue dasher is a common skimmer that can often be seen perched near still bodies of water. The male has a white face, striped thorax and powder blue abdomen with a black tip. Females have red and blue eyes, striped thorax and striped abdomen.
Blue Dashers spend most of their time perched. They usually perch vertically from grasses or branches of bushes, next to the ground, to twigs high up in the tree tops. Males defend territories from a perch and will usually drive away most blue pruinose colored dragonflies. Male and female Blue Dashers will also defend small hunting territories
Still water with a lot of vegetation, such as ponds, lake shores, marshes, ditches, and slow moving streams
Females lay eggs by tapping their abdomen in waters with a lot of aquatic vegetation, sometimes laying 300- 700 eggs in 35 seconds. Males guard either perched or hovering near the female
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Range maps and checklists courtesy of Odonata Central. Copyright © 2016 OdonataCentral. All Rights Reserved. Abbott, J.C. 2006-2018. OdonataCentral: An online resource for the distribution and identification of Odonata. Available at www.odonatacentral.org.