Diet

• Argia oculata is a predatory damselfly. Adults catch small flying insects, particularly flies, mosquitoes, and other small soft-bodied insects, while the aquatic naiads prey on mosquito larvae and other small aquatic organisms.

Range

• The Oculate Dancer has a broad Neotropical distribution, extending from Mexico through Central America and northern South America to Bolivia and Brazil. In Mexico its range reaches as far north as Sonora and Tamaulipas.

• It is well established in tropical Mexico; it has been recorded in Oaxaca's tropical dry forest and is also known from other parts of Mexico.

• Argia oculata is therefore a suitable species for the Zihuatanejo region, particularly around freshwater streams, ponds, and other slow-moving or still-water habitats.

Habitat

• It is associated primarily with ponds, slow-moving streams, and other quiet freshwater, particularly where emergent and waterside vegetation provides perching and hunting sites. Adults commonly perch on vegetation close to the water.

• Around Zihuatanejo, suitable habitat includes small streams, pools, ponds, and seasonally wet areas bordered by tropical dry forest, scrub, grasses, and other vegetation.

• Adults can be present for much of the warmer part of the year where suitable aquatic habitat persists.

Description

• Argia oculata is a small to medium-sized damselfly, approximately 31–41 mm long.

• Males have a predominantly dark abdomen marked with distinctive blue, backward-pointing markings on the upper surfaces of the abdominal segments. The thorax is blue to blue-violet and has a conspicuous, broad, forked lateral stripe.

• Females are more variable in colour and may occur in blue or brownish forms. Their abdomen generally has blue rings rather than the strongly arrow-like markings characteristic of males. Colour variation in females is well documented, including changes associated with age.