Blue-tipped Dancer Blue-tipped Dancer Scientific Name Family Name Argia tibialis (Rambur, 1842) Coenagrionidae Pond Damsels Did you know? The blue markings on blue-tipped dancers and some other odonate species turn gray at cool temperatures (Dunkle 1990). Photo credits: Jeremy Martin Summary Protection Not listed in New York State, not listed federally. Rarity G5, S3 This level of state protection means: The species is not listed or protected by New York State. A global rarity rank of G5 means: Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. A state rarity rank of S3 means: Typically 21 to 100 occurrences, limited acreage, or miles of stream in New York State. Conservation Status in New York To date, this species has been recorded on just ten rivers or streams in just two regions of the state. Although it is highly likely that it will be found on additional waters, it is uncertain as to whether it will be found in additional drainages. There are a number of potential and likely threats to the lotic waters occupied by this species and there is virtually no information available on the linear extent of occupied rivers and streams or population sizes on these waters. Short-term Trends There is no information on population trends for this species at known locations, as nearly all of the sites have only recently been documented. It is not clear if this southern species is expanding its range northward or if the recent records simply reflect the general increase in survey efforts for odonates in general. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis)
Long-term Trends The fact that only one record was known historically and that a number of new locations for this southern species have been found in recent years, suggests that this species may be expanding its range to the north. Conservation and Management Threats Little published information is available citing specific cases of negative impacts to vatious species of river dwelling odonates, but any activities which degrade the sensitive hydrology of these habitats would threaten populations of these species. The most important likely negative impacts would come from changes in the natural hydrology such as the building of dams, increases in sediment load of the river or stream (such as might result should logging occur down to the river edge), changes in dissolved oxygen content, direct effects of pesticides, and chemical contamination by runoff of agricultural or other discharge. Research Needs Research aimed at obtaining information on population size at occupied sites would be useful in determining the overall population for this species in the state. Research on larval habitat requirements may provide a better understanding of the species tolerance to various hydrological disturbances. Habitat The blue-tipped dancer is predominantly a species of flowing waters including fast or slow-flowing rivers and streams. Although it also occurs at swamps and ponds in some parts of the range, all New York records to date are from flowing waters (Lam 2004, New York Natural Heritage Program 2006). Associated Ecological Communities Confined River The aquatic community of relatively large, fast flowing sections of streams with a moderate to gentle gradient. Rocky Headwater Stream The aquatic community of a small- to moderate-sized perennial rocky stream typically with a moderate to steep gradient, and cold water that flows over eroded bedrock, boulders, or cobbles in the area where a stream system originates. Identification Comments Identifying Characteristics Adult dancers are small, generally dark bodied damselflies distinguished from most other small damselflies by long spines on the legs. The wings are clear. Females may be further distinguished from other species of smaller damselflies by the lack of a spine beneath the 8th segment of the abdomen. Male blue-tipped dancers are mostly black with purple stripes NYNHP Conservation Guide - Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis) 2
on the thorax, and sky blue 9th and 10th abdominal segments. Females may be brown or blue with wide, black, shoulder stripes and abdomen mostly black. The overall body size of adults is from 1.2-1.5 in (30-38 mm) in length (Lam 2004). Larvae of the dancer species are typically short, stocky and flattened, with moderately large eyes and seven-jointed antennae. Three sets of oblong-shaped gills attach to the terminal end of the abdomen (Westfall and May 1996). Characteristics Most Useful for Identification Although coloration of certain locations on the thorax and abdomen can usually to be used to identify adult dancers to the species level, examination of the terminal appendages at the end of the abdomen in males and characters of wing venation, spots on top of the head, and microscopic features of the thorax are definitive features used in taxonomic keys for female dancers (Westfall and May 1996, Lam 2004). Best Life Stage for Identifying This Species Behavior Mature adults are the best life stage for the identification of all damselflies. Larval identification requires the use of detailed taxonomic keys, can be very difficult, and can be very unreliable, especially in the case of larvae that are not yet mature. Larval identification is best done by people with a great deal of expertise in this area. The species of dancers tend to perch on the ground more than other species of damselflies (Lam 2004). Although it often perches in sunny spots, the blue-tipped dancer is reported as perching on vegetation and in the shade more often than some other dancer species (Dunkle 1990). Dancers lay their eggs while in tandem and eggs are laid in floating vegetation, floating debris and wet wood above the water line (Lam 2004, Dunkle 1990). The Best Time to See Lam (2004) reports this species from early June through early September for New Jersey, while Donnelly (1999) gives the dates of June 27 through July 25, but the latter is based on only a few records. The majority of the recent records for New York are from July and August, with one from early September (New York Natural Heritage Program 2006). These dates indicate that the blue-tipped dancer may be more of a late summer species. Present Reproducing Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec The time of year you would expect to find Blue-tipped Dancer in New York. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis) 3
Similar Species Dusky Dancer(Argia translata): The male dusky dancer is similar in size to the blue-tipped dancer and also has a dark thorax and abdomen, however the dusky dancer has thin blue rings around nearly all of the abdominal segments including the 9th and 10th. The eyes of this species are violet and it lacks purple stripes on the thorax. The female dusky dancer has eyespots, a pale ovipositor, and a long pale area dividing the black shoulder stripe (Lam 2004). Variable Dancer(Argia fumipennis violacea): The male variable dancer also has sky-blue 9th and 10th abdominal segments and purple on the thorax, however the eyes and abdomen of this distinctive species are also purple. Blue-Fronted Dancer(Argia apicalis): Like the blue-tipped dancer, the male blue-fronted dancer has sky blue segments at the tip of the abdomen, however in this species segments 8-10 are blue as opposed to just segments 9 and 10. In addition, the thorax of the male and some female blue-fronted dancers is also sky blue ( hence the name blue-fronted), as opposed to black with purple stripes in the blue-tipped dancer (Lam 2004). Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Class Animalia Mandibulates (Mandibulata) Order Insects (Insecta) Family Additional Resources Links Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) Coenagrionidae (Pond Damsels) New Jersey Odes http://www.njodes.com/default.htm Ode News http://www.odenews.org/ Odonata Central http://odonatacentral.org/ NYDDS http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/31061.html NatureServe Explorer http://natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/natureserve?searchname=argia+tibialis Google Images http://images.google.com/images?q=argia+tibialis West Virginia Odes http://martes.dnr.state.wv.us/odonata/default.aspx NYNHP Conservation Guide - Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis) 4
References Donnelly, T. W. 1992. The odonata of New York State. Bulletin of American Odonatology. 1(1):1-27. Dunkle, S.W. 1990. Damselflies of Florida, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, FL. 148 pp. Keys, Jr.,J.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McNab, W.H.; Russell, W.;Smith, M.L. 1995. Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (cd-rom), Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. GIS coverage in ARCINFO format, selected imagery, and map unit tables. Lam, E. 2004. Damselflies of the northeast: A guide to the species of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Biodiversity Books, Forest Hills, New York. 96 pp. NatureServe. 2005. NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. USA New York Natural Heritage Program. 2006. Biotics Database. Albany, NY. Westfall, M.J. Jr. and M.L. May. 1996. Damselflies of North America. Scientific Publishers. Gainesville, FL. 649 pp. New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-4757 Phone: (518) 402-8935 acris@nynhp.org This project is made possible with funding from: - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program - Division of Lands & Forests, Department of Environmental Conservation - New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Information for this guide was last updated on Aug 07, 2017 This guide was authored by NYNHP Conservation Guide - Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis) 5