Blue Dasher

The Blue Dasher is a small skimmer dragonfly with a powder-blue abdomen, clear wings, striped thorax, and bright reflective eyes. It is often associated with ponds, marshes, and wetlands, but adults may perch along nearby prairie edges, trail edges, and shrubby vegetation. In these photos, male Blue Dashers rest on weathered seedheads and bare twigs, offering close views of their wing posture, eye color, thorax patterning, and blue-pruinose abdomen.

For identification details and comparison with similar species, see Pachydiplax longipennis in the Field Notes section.

Center of the Arc
A male Blue Dasher rests on an arcing twig, holding the classic wings-down posture of a perched skimmer against a leafy green backdrop.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 800 • Aperture f/10.0 • Shutter 1/320 s
E22A5734 • Size: 2600 x 1733

Trail-Edge Profile
A male Blue Dasher perches from a bare twig along the shaded trail edge, showing red eyes, clear wings, and the powder-blue abdomen of a mature skimmer.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 800 • Aperture f/10.0 • Shutter 1/320 s
E22A5715 • Size: 2900 x 1933

Blue on the Breeze
A male Blue Dasher balances on a weathered seedhead, flashing powder-blue color and red eyes against a soft green summer backdrop.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 800 • Aperture f/8.0 • Shutter 1/640 s
E22A5251 • Size: 2200 x 1400

Green-Eyed Dasher
A mature male Blue Dasher holds its wings wide from a sunlit twig at the shaded edge of the prairie, showing green eyes, a striped thorax, and a powder-blue abdomen.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 400 • Aperture f/11.0 • Shutter 1/320 s
E22A5682 • Size: 3800 x 2533

Face of a Dasher
A tight portrait of a male Blue Dasher reveals the red-and-blue compound eyes, pale face, gripping legs, and fine wing venation often missed in a wider perch view.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 800 • Aperture f/10.0 • Shutter 1/320 s
E22A5724-1 • Size: 2100 x 1400

Red-Eyed Watcher
A male Blue Dasher holds a quiet lookout from a twig, showing red eyes, a striped thorax, and a powder-blue abdomen in the prairie-edge shade.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Settings: ISO 800 • Aperture f/10.0 • Shutter 1/320 s
E22A5730 • Size: 4800 x 3200