Butterflies, Moths, Dragonflies & Damselflies of Dayton, Ohio

STREAM BLUET, TURQUOISE BLUET, AND SLENDER bLUET

Another male Stream Bluet. I find this species at numerous locations, from May through September. 

Male Stream Bluet. When looking at this species from above, notice the parallel thin blue stripes on the otherwise black thorax, and the single blue square near the abdomen tip. Only one segment is blue at the abdomen tip. 

This is a Turquoise Bluet, a fairly localized and uncommon species in our area. They are similar to Stream Bluets, but male Turquoise Bluets have two blue segments at the abdomen tip instead of one. (Skimming Bluets also have two blue segments, but their abdomens are not as long and thin.) 

Male Slender Bluet. We have the western subspecies in our area (Westfall's Slender Bluet). This individual was photographed at Spring Lakes Park in Bellbrook. 

I love this photo of a Stream Bluet with rippling water in the background. (Photo taken at Germantown MetroPark.)  

Female Slender Bluet, photographed at Cox Arboretum. I typically see this species in June and July, with stragglers into early August. 

Mated pair of Slender Bluets, at Spring Lakes Park. 

This is another Turquoise Bluet. I have found this species at a few locations in Greene County: Clifton Reserve, Fairborn Marsh, and Spring Lakes Park. 

Slender Bluets are found at ponds and lakes. They tolerate the presence of fish fairly well, unlike many damselflies. 

Female Stream Bluet. Females sometimes have an additional thin shoulder stripe on the thorax. Due to this extra stripe, they can be mistaken for female Double-striped Bluets. 

This is a female Turquoise Bluet. Females can be tricky to identify, and they are best confirmed by the presence of males in the area. 

In addition to Spring Lakes Park, three other good locations to see Slender Bluets are Cox Arboretum, Elk Creek MetroPark in Butler County (the Meadow Ridge area), and Germantown MetroPark. 

Turquoise Bluets fly in May and June. They live near streams, but they seem to be fairly picky about their habitat requirements. 

Stream Bluets live at many of our local streams and rivers. Siebenthaler Fen, Germantown MetroPark, the Caesar Creek Dam, and the Great Miami River are good places to find this species. 

I photographed this ovipositing pair of Slender Bluets at Veto Lake, in southeastern Ohio. The female is completely submerged underneath the water to lay her eggs.