The variable dancer (''Argia fumipennis'') is a
damselfly
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...
of the family
Coenagrionidae
The insect family Coenagrionidae is placed in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera.
The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, making i ...
. It is native to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, where it is widespread throughout the east and present in the interior western United States.
[''Argia fumipennis''.]
NatureServe. 2012.
The male of the subspecies ''A. f. violacea'' (the violet dancer) is purple with a blue tip.
[Paseka, J. M]
''Argia fumipennis violacea''.
Nebraska Dragonflies and Damselflies. 2010.
Subspecies
''Argia fumipennis'' has three subspecies:
*Black dancer ''A. f. atra''
*Smoky-winged dancer ''A. f. fumipennis''
*Violet dancer ''A. f. violacea''
File:Black Dancer - Argia fumipennis atra, Highland Hammock State Park, Sebring, Florida.jpg, Black dancer ''A. f. atra''
File:Argia fumipennis.jpg, Smoky-winged dancer ''A. f. fumipennis'', Male
File:Argia fumipennis violacea.jpg, Violet dancer ''A. f. violacea'', Female
File:Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea) - Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario.jpg, Violet dancer ''A. f. violacea'', Male
References
Coenagrionidae
Odonata of North America
Insects described in 1839
{{Coenagrionidae-stub