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Tule bluet
Tule bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) [female]
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey
Tule bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) [male]
Illinois Status: common, native
Photo © Mary Kay Rubey
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
The tule bluet is about one-and-a-half inches long and is sexually dimorphic. Males have a mostly blue and black body while females are green and black. The face is blue or green (depending on sex), the head is black and has two teardrop shaped spots behind the eyes with a bar between them. Males have blue eyes and females have green eyes that are brown on top. At a glance, bluets are all quite similar and the tule bluet is no exception. Male tule bluets can be distinguished from others by heavier black coloration in the middle of the abdomen. The tule bluet is most similar to alkali and river bluets. The tule bluet is found in the northern third of the state while the river bluet is only found along the northern border of Illinois and around lake Michigan. Female tule bluets look like many other bluets and can only be distinguished by inspection of mesostigmal plates (found on the sides of the thorax).
BEHAVIOR
The tule bluet is found in late summer along lakes, ponds, and slow rivers with aquatic vegetation. Mayflies and small flies are common prey for this species. Mating has been well studied; pairs mate for 20 minutes, and either deposit eggs at the surface of the water or below in aquatic vegetation.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Coenagrionidae
Habitats
The tule bluet is found in late summer along lakes, ponds, and slow rivers with aquatic vegetation.
