NC Odonate Website

Related Species in COENAGRIONIDAE:

Number of records for 2024 = 1

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Blackwater Bluet (Enallagma weewa) by Matt Spangler

Compare with: Blue-tipped Dancer
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Note: these identification tips apply specifically to mature males; features may differ in immature males and females.

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Map

Click on county for list of all its records for Blackwater Bluet

Flight Charts

Distribution

Nearly throughout the Coastal Plain, and the extreme eastern and southern Piedmont. Absent from the mountains, and essentially absent from the northwestern half of the Piedmont, though a shocking photograph in 2021 documented the species from Wilkes County. Perhaps absent in a few counties in the northeastern Coastal Plain, such as those around Albemarle Sound.

Abundance

Though recorded from most Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont counties, suggesting that it isn't rare, there are relatively few recent reports, and just a modest number of photographs. Seems to be uncommon and overlooked within the range (if not also declining) -- at least in the southern portion of the Coastal Plain (where most recent records have been made). Certainly, rare in the Piedmont portion of the range, as (despite many observers in the Triangle region) there are no recent records from this province.

Flight

In the Coastal Plain, the flight occurs from early May to early October, and the Piedmont flight is similar, though the earliest record is from late May.

Habitat

Unusual for a damselfly: as the name suggests, it is found around blackwater (acidic) streams, rarely around larger rivers and lakes, but again with tannic (acidic) waters. However, several recent records have been at margins of lakes and ponds (in the Sandhills, where waters are acidic).

See also Habitat Account for General Blackwater Shorelines

Behavior

Both sexes tend to stay in shade in vegetation along the banks of streams -- very hard for an observer to spot. And they seem to be less active than most other bluets, only infrequently perching on a twig or other perch over the water. Males often perch on grasses or other shaded vegetation about a foot or two off the water, along the stream bank -- often in a vertical or diagonal position.

Comments

It seems remarkable that Cuyler, and possibly others, have collected the species from 40 or more counties, yet there are relatively few recent observations. This scarcity of recent records is likely due to the fact that few observers look for odonates along blackwater streams; most field work is done around ponds, lakes, and larger creeks and rivers. Certainly a species that has been recorded (collected) in ecologically "impoverished" counties such as Edgecombe, Wilson, Greene, Lenoir, and Duplin cannot be that scarce. There are barely 10-12 photographs available (so far) for the species in NC, and none as yet from the northern half of the Coastal Plain or eastern Piedmont.

As there were no reports at all statewide in 2019 and 2020, the State Rank has been adjusted upward to a less common S4, instead of S5. Perhaps the species is indeed declining, and not just being overlooked or difficult to survey; however, blackwater creeks and rivers have not been impacted much by development or agriculture in recent decades.

State Rank

State Status

Global Rank

Federal Status

Synonym

Other Name

Species account update: LeGrand on 2023-01-18 15:46:57

The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
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Photo Gallery for Blackwater Bluet 13 photos are shown.		Other NC Galleries: Jeff Pippen Will Cook Ted Wilcox
	Photo 1 by: Mark Shields Comment: Robeson, 2023-05-12, Lumber River State Park-Princess Ann Access		Photo 2 by: Harry LeGrand, Lori Arent Comment: Moore; C, 2022-06-26, Aberdeen Lake dam (ALD) area; Weymouth Woods (WEWO) preserve - male; James Creek by Valhalla Road at WEWO; photo by Lori Arent
	Photo 3 by: Mike Turner Comment: Moore; C, 2022-06-04, Aberdeen Lake Park		Photo 4 by: Max Ramey Comment: Wilkes; P, 2021-08-21, Kerr Scott Dam/ Yadkin River (Dam to 1000 ft downstream) - First record for the region and pretty far from any previously known populations. In a shaded patch of bur-reeds on the edge of the river.
	Photo 5 by: Max Ramey Comment: Wilkes; P, 2021-08-21, Kerr Scott Dam/ Yadkin River (Dam to 1000 ft downstream) - First record for the region and pretty far from any previously known populations. In a shaded patch of bur-reeds on the edge of the river.		Photo 6 by: Matt Spangler Comment: Pender, 2021-05-24, Black River downstream of Hunts Bluff
	Photo 7 by: Mark Shields Comment: Robeson, 2018-08-26, Lumber River at Lumber River State Park-Princess Ann - tandem pair ovipositing and lone male		Photo 8 by: Mark Shields Comment: Brunswick, 2018-05-11, Allen Creek below dam on Patricia Lake, Boiling Spring Lakes - 1 tandem pair, 1 lone male
	Photo 9 by: Conrad Wernett Comment: Onslow, 2017-05-27 - Cowhorn Creek Landing. Individuals and tandem pairs common.		Photo 10 by: Kyle Kittelberger Comment: Richmond; C, 2017-05-08, McKinney Lake Fish Hatchery
	Photo 11 by: Mike Turner, Conrad Wernett, Alyssa Wernett Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-07, Sandhill Game Land; Scotland Lake - adult males		Photo 12 by: Conrad Wernett, Alyssa Wernett Comment: Richmond; C, 2015-06-14 - Lake McKinney drainage, saw male perched like spreadwings
	Photo 13 by: Conrad Wernett Comment: Jones, 2014-09-20 - Male photographed along Trent River