Blue Dasher

Pachydiplax longipennis

My Species Story

As with most dragonflies I really started noticing these little guys regularly after falling in love with insects during my Master Naturalist training.

In 2023 I noticed they were very common around the edge of the pond at the Landry Property, and would regularly see them perched and zooming around on my daily walks.

In 2024, they were everywhere. There were tons of them around the pond, even more than I remember the year before, and I also encountered lots of them in the Spring everywhere I went in south Louisiana. They were by far the insect I saw the most during the 2024 City Nature Challenge

My iNaturalist observations of Pachydiplax longipennis
A closeup photo of a small, mostly blue dragonfly. It has large blue-green eyes with a white face. Its thorax is yellow with black stripes, and its long abdomen is a powdery light blue tipped in black. It is holding on with its thin black legs and feet to a thin twig.
A closeup photo of a small, mostly blue dragonfly. It has large blue-green eyes with a white face. Its thorax is yellow with black stripes, and its long abdomen is also yellow with black stripes along the sides.
A closeup photo of a small, mostly blue dragonfly, showing the intricate details of the dragonfly's wings reflecting the light of the bright sun. It has large blue-green eyes with a white face. Its thorax is yellow with black stripes, and its long abdomen is a powdery light blue tipped in black.