Montana Field Guide

The Taiga Bluet is found at a wide variety of still-water habitats at higher elevations or northern latitudes. It can probably tolerate a colder climate than any other damselfly in Montana. Considering the types of places it is found it emerges very early in the spring.

Adult Flight Season: late-April to July

This is a small damselfly 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches (31 to 37 mm) long. The males are predominately blue on the sides of the thorax, and the upper side of the abdomen is predominantly black, with a distinctive "U" shaped marking on the upper surface of the 2nd abdominal segment. The blue is paler than for most Bluets (Paulson 2000).

The habitat of the Taiga Bluet includes marshes and fens of sedge, as well as vegetated ponds, spring-fed pools and streams, and sedge beds of large lakes that are mostly semipermanent (Westfall and May 1996, Nikula et al. 2002, Acorn 2004, Paulson 2009). Unlike the Prairie Bluet (Coenagrion angulatum), which prefers open sunny habitats, the Taiga Bluet selects habitats that are at least partly shaded (Acorn 2004).

Larvae feed on a wide variety of aquatic insects, such as mosquito larvae, other aquatic fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp.
Adult- This damselfly will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites.

Male Taiga Bluets rapidly patrol through vegetation searching for females. This species tends to stay close to dense vegetation rarely appearing over open water. Oviposition is usually completed by tandem pair on floating and emergent stems just below the waterline (Nikula et al. 2002, Paulson, 2009).