Geographical-variation
Guides
Argia apicalis
Blue-fronted Dancer
Argia apicalis, commonly known as the Blue-fronted Dancer, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae native to North America. First described by Thomas Say in 1840, it is a common and widespread species assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. The species exhibits notable color polymorphism, with males occurring in bright blue and gray-black phases and females in brown, turquoise, and gray-black phases. Color changes are multi-directional and not tied to age or mating status. Males use thoracic color patterns for sex recognition, with brown females eliciting the strongest sexual response. The species shows distinctive geographical variation in thoracic stripe patterns, with broad-striped forms in the southeastern United States and typical forms elsewhere.