Powdered Dancer, Argia moesta 1.5 - 1.7 inches in length. ..Field identifiable.

It was late summer during my first year looking at dragonflies and damselflies when I saw my first Powdered Dancer on vacation in Nova Scotia. Despite my inexperience this mostly white damselfly was so distinctive that I easily identified it. This species, as it turned out, is common and widespread throughout the Northeast. Like most dancers, these damselflies are found on streams and rivers. This first individual was perched on a small walkway bridge. I would later learn that many dancers prefer to sit on bare ground and rocks, more so than most other damselflies.
 
mature male photographed 6/28/04 Rutland Co. VT
 

Identification: Male is our only mostly white damselfly, developing pruinosity on the face, thorax and at the abdomen tip.
 
 
The immature male (shown above) can be confused with brown female dancers. Their short terminal appendages are hard to see making them even more female-like in appearance. Make sure to check for the secondary genitalia beneath segment 2. They are often found away from the water, feeding in sunny clearings and along trails in the woods.
 
 
 
Powdered Dancers have two female color forms, blue and brown. In the Northeast they rarely have dark shoulder stripes. Powdered Dancer females are very similar to Blue-fronted Dancer females but have a slightly paler abdominal pattern.