Enallagma civile
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The familiar bluet (Enallagma civile) is a narrow-winged damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae, which is native to much of the United States and southern Canada. In a broader sense, it is a part of the order Odonata. It is an order that consists of predatory flying insects, such as dragonflies and damselflies. Damselflies are structurally similar to dragonflies, except damselflies have a slimmer body and they have widely-separated eyes; whereas dragonflies have larger eyes that nearly touch.
The familiar bluet have been found to reside in natural or artificially-made ponds, or simply places where bodies of non-polluted freshwater and vegetation are located: lakes, ponds, or slow streams. The familiar bluet is generally less tolerant of significant chemical imbalances, thus helping to indicate pure water quality. It has a torpedo-shaped thorax that tapers into a slender abdomen, separated by an average of 10 segments, and it is on average 30-39 mm in length. The familiar bluet has a striking resemblance to the tule bluet, bearing the same sky-blue and black bodies, but differs due to the less heavy black coloration on the abdomen and thorax.
Familiar bluets display sexual dimorphism. Male familiar bluets have a distinct bright, blue color that covers the majority of its head and body and has jet-black spots that cover the dorsal portion of its eyes, segments and upper abdomen. Females are polymorphic; they may appear in nature as a pale blue or an olive-tan color.
The life cycle of damselflies is an incomplete metamorphosis. Once the familiar bluets hatch from their eggs, they are in their nymphal stage, where they will spend the majority of the lifetime molting and developing important adult anatomical structures. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Familiar Bluet sighting in Acadia National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 270th most-seen of the 405 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Familiar Bluet in Acadia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Familiar Bluet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Familiar Bluet sightings, Acadia National Park ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%), Padre Island National Seashore (United States, about 10%) and Saguaro National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Familiar Bluet is recorded against all the insects logged in Acadia National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
