new state insect for NV
Congratulations go out to Nevada for selecting an awesome (and native) new state insect: the vivid dancer (Odonata: Coenagrionidae: Argia vivida)! Check out Nevada State Bill 166 for the details. Apparently this species was proposed by
the fourth grade class taught by Mr. David R. Slater at John R. Beatty Elementary School, which is located on Hidden Palms Parkway in Las Vegas.
What a refreshing change - a state insect that is neither a ladybird beetle nor the honey bee. [I personally feel that NC should call a mulligan on SB 14, Chapter 55. The honey bee has served us well these last 36 years, but it's time we chose a native insect to represent our great state.]
This quote from the Nevada state entomologist (lifted from a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal) sums up my sentiments exactly:
In the world of state insects, no other state has a damselfly ... It's blue, so it's the right color for Nevada. It's something that people would recognize if they were out wandering around. It's a good guy.I do have one quibble, though - the male is blue; what about the female? She's (often) a beautiful tan, much like the Great Basin Desert that dominates the state of Nevada, and I think she should at least share the credit and the billing.
