American Rubyspot

Fascinating facts about the American Rubyspot

• The American rubyspot's name points to its status as the most widespread rubyspot in North America. It spans a broad geographic range from northern Central America up to southeastern Canada, inhabiting temperate woodlands and tropical forests alike. It has been recorded from every US state except Washington and Idaho, and often dominates odonate communities wherever it co-occurs with other rubyspots.
• Unlike many temperate damselflies, the American rubyspot does not enter a winter diapause, so adults can be observed throughout the year. This freedom allows larvae to grow at a pace set by food availability rather than seasonal deadlines, with development speeding up when prey such as Artemia salina are plentiful.
• When ready to lay, a female American rubyspot dives completely beneath the water surface to reach submerged vegetation, where she inserts her ovipositor and deposits her eggs. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae that act as predators in the stream, initially feeding on brine shrimp. These larvae develop through a series of instars, with their growth rate strongly influenced by the amount of food they can capture in their stream habitat.
• During copulation the male first clasps the female from behind with his abdominal appendages and the pair enters a precopulatory tandem flight. While coupled the male removes the majority of the female's stored sperm, stripping away 80-100 % of it. After sperm removal they perform a post-copulatory tandem flight and the female then dives beneath the water surface to locate submerged vegetation where she deposits her eggs.
• Future climate models predict the centre of the American rubyspot's distribution will shift northward by about 137 km, while overall habitat suitability is expected to rise slightly. However, suitable areas are forecast to break into smaller, isolated patches as the range moves, which could restrict gene flow among populations. This fragmentation may lower genetic diversity and raise the long-term risk of extinction.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the American Rubyspot

As the sunlight dances across the gentle ripples of a forest stream, the American Rubyspot emerges, its delicate wings beating in a hypnotic rhythm as it flits from rock to rock, its iridescent body glimmering like a shard of stained glass. With each delicate touch of its legs on the water's surface, it seems to be sipping the very essence of its surroundings, drinking in the beauty of the world around it. In this serene and idyllic realm, the American Rubyspot reigns supreme, a tiny, winged monarch of the woodland waters, its ruby-red spots flashing like beacons of wonder.

More insects and spiders to discover

Browse Feravox