Nebraska Dragonflies and Damselflies

Blue-faced Meadowhawk

Sympetrum ambiguum

Rambur, 1842

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The Blue-faced Meadowhawk is a slender dragonfly which has a blue-green forehead and a whitish lower face. The thorax is gray and the legs are tan. Mature males have a red abdomen, banded with black. In females and young males, the abdomen is brown with dark banding. They may be difficult to find due to their habit of perching in shade above eye level.

Accidental. This southern and eastern species reaches its northernand western limits in central Kansas. There is only one Nebraska record, from Blaine County 5 miles east of Brewster, along the Loup River in July of 1969. This record is some 200 miles north of records in Kansas and northwest of records in northwest Missouri.

Blue-faced Meadowhawk
Blue-faced Meadowhawk male

Size: 36-38mm (1.4-1.5 in)

Habitat: ponds, marshes and swamps with some shade

Great Plains Range: TX, OK, KS, NE, MO, IA

Flight season: July (?)

Blue-faced Meadowhawk map

Green indicates accepted county record (specimen or photograph).
Yellow indicates sight record only.


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