Vivid Dancer emerges from water feature

[Don Boucher]

Hello,

Vivid Dancers (Argia vivida) seem to prefer our backyard water feature. Many had overwintered as naiads. Lisa noticed that one had come out today and emerged as an adult female. In the wild, they like seeps and small spring-fed streams with ample vegetation.

In the photos, you can see the naiad exuvia below her. The white threads on the exuvia are tracheae remnants. It's a female because she has a thick, straight abdomen. A male may have a similar color right after emerging (the teneral stage) but he would have a thinner abdomen that widens near the end.

-Don Boucher & Lisa Millbank

NE Corvallis

Virus-free.www.avast.com