Pond Damselflies
Family Coenagrionidae
Genus Enallagma
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile)



"Blue-type" Bluet – the male's abdomens are predominantly blue when viewed from above. This damselfly has small eyespots. Similar species – Marsh Bluet (Enallagma ebrium), Hagen's Bluet (Enallagma hageni) and possibly the Tule Bluet (Enallagma carunculatum).


Flight season: late May to mid-October.

Population: not uncommon, but encountered less fequently than other Enallagma species. Apt to be found at any local slow-moving or still water habitats such as marshes, ponds or lakeshores with aquatic and emergent vegetation.

Length: about 35 mm, the average Familiar Bluet tends to be larger than Marsh and Hagen's Bluets. The cerci of the male are fairly prominent and often stand out in the field. However, Marsh, Hagen's and sometimes Tule Bluets cannot be reliably separated by sight and the only way to be certain as to species is by study of the male's cerci and female's mesostigmal plates.


Tweed, Ontario, the north shore Stoco Lake near the pavilion: marshy shoreline, relatively shallow water with mud bottom supporting sedges and rushes, pondweeds, Fragrant Water Lily, Blue Flag, Sagittaria spp and Pickerelweed.
Male Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile)
August 07, 2009


East of Tweed, Ontario, near the intersection of Alexander Street and the trans-Canada Trail: disturbed field supporting tall grasses and wildflowers, bordered by shrubs and trees with a sand and rock-bottomed creek to the east.
Male Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), terminalia – based on a rough sketch made on site. The cerci are robust and clearly discernible in the field, with a deep lateral aspect, nearly the length of S10, and a long upper "arm" projecting over a pale tubercle (September 06, 2014).


East of Tweed, Ontario, near the intersection of Lajoie Rd. and the trans-Canada Trail: a shady wooded area, with clearings both natural and created by the trail supporting grasses and wildflowers, the lagoon lies nearby to the northwest.
Male Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), terminalia
August 05, 2016


West of Tweed, Ontario, a high and dry field along the trans-Canada Trail: a dry field with sandy soil supporting short drought tolerant grasses, Sweetfern and Rubus spp.
Views of a late flying female Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) encountered a fair distance from water – the mesostigmal plates were examined in order to verify that this individual is indeed Enallagma civile (October 14, 2014).