Insects and Spiders

Blue Beauty

She is a beauty but even cooler is that she is a female in male colors. In biology, an andromorph is a female that mimics a male. With some damselfly species, some of the females will be the male color instead of the typical female color. It is thought that they benefit from avoiding male harassment after having already mated. This is very confusing to the males and results in some males failing to reproduce due to interactions with other males rather than with females. Rambur’s forktail damselflies are one of those species and the entire phenomena is called polymorphism. The color blue is the male trait but this female is mimicking a male. This is being studied, this guy even wrote his dissertation on it: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/31587
Andromorph Female Rambur's Forktail (Ischnura ramburii)

Female Rambur's Forktaildamselflyfemale damselflyIschnura ramburiibuginsectiridescentwhite rock lakedallas texasforktailandromorphAndromorph Female Rambur's Forktailunusualpolymorphismwinsted parking lotclose upmacroodesgrass bladeperched