Biology:American rubyspot
| American rubyspot | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Calopterygidae |
| Genus: | Hetaerina |
| Species: | H. americana
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| Binomial name | |
| Hetaerina americana (Fabricius, 1798) [1]
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| Range of H. americana [2] | |
The American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) is a damselfly of the family Calopterygidae. Males have a lustrous red head and thorax. The abdomen of both genders is brilliant green.[3] The female may have either green or copper colored marks on the thorax.[4]
Female copper form
Female green form
During mating, a male uses claspers at the end of his abdomen to grab a female behind the head, and the female bends her abdomen to engage segments 2–3 of the male, where sperm is stored, forming a "wheel" or "valentine". The male forcefully expels sperm stored by the female from prior matings before injecting his own.
Male above, female below
Mating wheel; sperm removal
Etymology
The name highlights this damselfly's status as the most widespread of the North American rubyspots.[5] It is reported from all of the lower 48 US states except Washington and Idaho, and is also found in Mexico and southern and eastern Canada.[2]
References
- ↑ "Hetaerina americana". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=102050.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Distribution Viewer". OdonataCentral. http://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/MapAction.windowed. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- ↑ Abbott, John C. (2005). Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States. Princeton University Press. p. 25. ISBN 0-691-11364-5.
- ↑ "Hetaerina americana". BugGuide.Net. http://bugguide.net/node/view/2593. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
- ↑ Paulson, Dennis R; Dunkle, Sidney W (14 April 2009). A Checklist of North American Odonata. p. 5.
Wikidata ☰ Q149045 entry
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