Blue-tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans
Blue-tailed damselflies are quite common, and can be seen in flight from April to September, or even early October. They are found in a wide variety of environments,
near standing or flowing water and are tolerant of brackish or slightly polluted waterways and can be found feeding in vegetation a long distance away from water. They
can live for a number of weeks, but the average survival time is apparently only about 10 days... A short, happy life?
A collection of some of Ireland’s Damselflies
This is a revision and refreshing of a page from the early days of
WildWest.ie . Though we are now in the middle of Winter, perhaps this page
will give you a glimpse of summers to come, and a healthier, happier
world…
A motley collection of Damselflies from the upper Shannon basin
Damselflies are a beautiful group of Insects that also contains the Dragonflies. This selection of photographs have been collected over the years. Damselflies are very variable, particularly in colour, which makes identification sometimes difficult. Identification is more often based on small features of their structure and anatomy rather than colours. Thus some forms of the Blue-tailed Damselfly don’t always have a blue tail!
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
This is a very common damselfly, which can be seen on the wing from mid May (depending on the weather) until August. They can occur in large numbers near the edges of lakes
and ponds. They don’t have many colour variations, just the male and female form, so are pretty easy to identify, and distinguish from other Irish damselflies.
The head, thorax and abdomen in the male is blue and black. They have a characteristic black ‘U’ shaped mark on the second segment of the abdomen.
The female (LEFT) has more black on the abdomen, and has either a blue or greenish thorax.
Damselfly Habitats & Ecology…
There are 11 species of Damselfly in Ireland; we illustrate samples of seven species here. Hope to include more this coming year— particularly the very rare Irish Damselfly, Coenagrion lunulatum, which is found in patches across the northern half of Ireland and, locally, in northern and eastern Europe but not in Britain. Of course, there are many colouration phases in the development of some adult damselfly species; we just show a collection of those we managed to spot so far on this webpage… Next season we hope to see perhaps spot other phases of these beautiful insects! The habitats for Damselflies vary from bogs and streams to brackish pools and ditches. Many are found near small quiet ponds, slow flowing rivers and streams or canals with much bordering vegetation. The larvae of Damselflies are aquatic generally for 1-2 years, depending on weather and food supply. They leave the water in early Summer to complete their final moult (shedding their skin) and change to the adult form. While their body is soft, and their wings are drying and stiffening, they are very vulnerable to predators and need plenty of vegetation and shelter. Females may disperse some distance from where they emerged, rambling and feeding around hedges and ditches feeding mostly on smaller insects. Common Blue Damselflies perch on low vegetation and catch their prey on the wing as well as among bushes, reeds and grasses. Immature female Variable Damselflies may be seen well away from water only returning to consort with mature males who spend much time by water feeding on surrounding vegetation. When mating damselflies form a tandem and eventually fly together over calm water where the female then places her eggs on vegetation in the water.
The late female ‘rufescens’ form becomes a more yellow-brown colour, with a brown, ‘tail’.
Large Red damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula
Emerald damselfly Lestes sponsa
Try and put magnifyer going thru a
This is a lovely species to photograph, as the colour variations are quite striking, though
confusing! Keep and eye out for it on sunny days by a pond or waterway near you… As
usual, the male and female are quite different but subtly similar. A single completely blue
penultimate tail segment is common to all males. Females show a variety of colour
changes at different stages of maturity ending up with a mature stage showing no
signature blue segment.
The image (LEFT) shows the juvenile ‘rufescens’ phase eating a moth. At this stage, the
damselfly has a reddish-pink thorax and blue ‘tail’ on segment 8. The mature ‘rufescens’
form (TOP LEFT) loses the blue ring. In later stages, the female can occur in a violet, or
greenish form, and the mature female can be blue, or greeny-brown!!
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum.
The Common Blue damselfly is very common, and also shows the deepest blue (cerulean) of all the species of blue damsels. They are very sensitive to pollution
though, and, if you find them, they can be a good indicator of a healthy waterway. They often can be found flying over open water, whereas most damselflies will
keep closer to water’s edge or vegetation nearby.
The deep blue male is a phase and this species also has an immature phase (RIGHT). This immature male is happily eating a Mayfly… They will, over time,
develop into the mature blue form. All males have a black ‘Club’ shaped mark on segment 2 of the thorax and, in the blue specimens, have blue and black
markings on the abdomen, and all blue segment 7 & 8 of the ‘tail’ as their pigment develops. In immatures the pattern is the same except it is a pale brown/lilac
colour.. The coloured stripes on the top of the thorax (antehumeral) are wider in this species than in the similar Azure and Variable damselflies.
The females can have variable colours, either blue, like the mature males, or the ‘drab’ form, which is a yellowish or pale biscuit colour. (See image BELOW LEFT)
But all Common Blue females have a little spine sticking out below segment 8 of the abdomen.
ABOVE: The ‘drab’ form of the female Common Blue damselfly.
Typical Mature male
Violet form of the male Common Blue damselfly
SPINE
Apart from their amazing colours the Damselflies are exciting and absorbing to watch. Come May or June in peaceful ponds and warm days
they will be busy hatching out, feeding and pursuing the opposite sex. There is a touch of ‘the caveman’ about them — dragging their wives
away to start the next generation.
Here we show 2 species of Damselflies courting and mating; it is a common sight in mid-Summer. (ABOVE) A female is so firmly held by the
male Common Blue as they go on a courtship flight. The image (RIGHT) shows another pair mating; this time between a pair of Large Red
Damselflies. All this activity is totally dependent on warm weather and a peaceful clean habitat into which the next generation of eggs will
be placed by the female.
The mating images BELOW clearly demonstrate the amazing acrobatics that these Damselflies go to in pursuit of survival and procreation.
Both images show pairs of Damselflies in a tight embrace. The male still holds his ‘intended’ with a firm clasp on the back of her neck. The
female — the lower insect in both images — then has the responsibility of collecting sperm from the male in the privacy and security of a
sedge or a small twig.
The male produces sperm in his abdomen at the end of his tail and, prior to mating, transfers it to the other end of his abdomen near to
where it joins the thorax where the female collects the seed to fertilise her eggs.
Hence the amazing postures that these species can be seen to adopt in life’s never ending passion to survive.. All these adaptations have
evolved for each species and mitigate against the chance of a damselfly mating with another species.
RIGHT
The Emerald is a
common damselflyin
Ireland..
This adult male with
blue eyes and a grey/blue
coating on lower thorax
and 1st and 2nd
adbominal segment.
This specimen can be
seen resting, or digesting,
with its wings held apart
in it’s typically horizontal
posture on a sedge.
Courtship and Mating
among the Damselflies…
LEFT
First date.., then the
courtship… then
reproduction…
and then their lives
are over!
But the next
generation
develops under
water to hatch out
in years to come…
LEFT Blue-tailed Damselfly
In both pictures the female is held in a tight embrace by
the neck and can be seen reaching her abdomen up to her
partner’s 2nd abdominal segment where the male has
previously (or concurrently) deposited sperm containing
material.
The female mating here is the ‘late rufescens’ form
referring to her greeny fawn sort of colour. Female
Damselflies have many slightly varied colour forms
whereas the males seem more constant
RIGHT
Common Blue Damselfly
Common Blue female seen here is the drab form. For
details about these variants see species description above!
MALE:
A stunning small sized Damsel Fly that you can find near
pools and ponds and slow flowing water in most parts of
the country. It is one of the commonest damselflies in
Ireland and is often abundant.
Its habitat includes lakes and ponds, slow moving rivers
and canals, in acid or alkaline regions. Males have blue
and black body, with segments 8 and 9 of the abdomen all
blue. and have a distinctive club shaped mark on segment
2 of the abdomen. Immature males are a pale lilac or
violet colour.
FEMALE
Females are often brownish and
there are variants ranging from
lilac to greyish brown. These
variable colours makes females
sometimes difficult to identify.
However, all female Common Blues
have a little spine on the underside
of Segment 8 of the abdomen (see
LEFT) and this distinguishes them
from some other blue female
damsels. They usually have a Thistle
shaped marking on segment 2 of
the abdomen, but this is variable...
They don't have the two all-blue
segment on the abdomen, like the
male. A female Common Blue looks
dowdy beside its mate especially
when they form a courtship train or
tandem and fly around attached..
MALE
This is a dainty, common damselfly which is found
over a wide range of water bodies, including slowly
moving water, but favours quiet ponds with plenty
of vegetation. It is sensitive to pollution but can
tolerate rich, eutrophic areas.
The blue and black-striped male has a U shaped
marking on segment 2 and just one all-blue tail on
Segment 8. Immature male Azures are lilac or
pale violet colour
FEMALE
The females can be a little
hard to identify; they are
predominantly black and have
no spine on segment 8 of the
abdomen and no all-blue
segment.
MALES (LEFT)
Two unattached
bachelors resting
on a Flag leaf.
At this time of year
they seem to spend
a lot of time
socialising and
rarely seem to be
hunting. Perhaps
this is done early
morning or late
evening.
MALE
These damselflies appear much more slender than other
'blue' damselflies. The mature male is pale blue, darker
stripes towards end of abdomen, with one all-blue 'tail'
segment.
They have a mark on segment 2 of the abdomen (nearer
the head) which looks like a wine glass with a narrow
stem. They are less common than the Azure or Common
Blues
FEMALE
The female has two forms (Blue and Dark) and also shares
the male’s marking on segment two but not the all-blue
Segment 8.
FEMALE Blue form, with blue and black rings on the
abdomen. (RIGHT)
The Dark form, with a mainly black abdomen, has very thin
blue rings between segments (which may not be easily seen
in the field.).
MALE
Blue-tailed males are fairly easy to identify; the females are more difficult.
The abdomen is a metallic black colour with a bright blue tail (just one
segment). The thorax has blue or green antehumeral stripes
FEMALES: (ABOVE and RIGHT)
The females of the Blue-tailed
damselfly come in a variety of
forms, making it difficult to
ascertain which species or form
it is, unless you are lucky enough
to see a couple in tandem, with
the more easily identified male!
The females then lay their eggs
on floating vegetation and the
larvae hatch and spend up to two
years as an aquatic form. Then
they emerge as a new
generation...
RIGHT
Females often remain near water
whereas the males are more of a
rambling nature, returning just to mate.
The Large Red Damselfly is larger than all the blue damselfly species, and less common. Easy to spot, though,
and the only red damselfly occurring in Ireland. It is often found settled on bramble bushes in the sunshine
often away from water. They can live for a couple of weeks, but the average lifespan is only 7 days! Look out for
them in early Summer of 2021, all being well, and do let us know if you find a haunt for them!
Comparing Male and Female Large Reds:
(The females are on the Right.)
Males are consistent in appearance and are deeper red. Seen from above the Male will appear largely red with
some flecks of yellow on the lower thorax. From the side the abdomen looks largely deep red. However, a salient
feature is the lower abdomen where the male has even deeper and shinier bands of red above the genitals.
Females do not have these so prominently. The females are also more orangey red and introduce more of the
yellow colour, found on the thorax, in between segments. (See supplementary notes to each Image.)
MALE: (BELOW)
This image is a male; they have a predominantly red abdomen, with black on the 7th to 9th segments. The
colour of the male is beautiful — dark polished red with some black on the abdomen and a small amount of
yellow on the thorax. But there is a clear marking on either side of the back of the thorax (the ‘antehumeral
stripe’) that is red in the male BUT yellow in the females (RIGHT) It is quite a striking if seen close up! Near the tip
of each wing there are black diamond shaped spots. This damselfly is a work of art, and being the sole red
Damselfly in Ireland, and being quite scarce, all makes sighting of this insect very rewarding, even more
rewarding if you can get close enough to appreciate its beautiful markings.
fulvipes FEMALE
with no red on tail,
no rings around
lower segment, and
black strips only on
top of lower
segments with only
a narrow medial
black line up the
rest of the back.
intermedia FEMALE
with orangey tail,
with narrow black
and yellow rings
between segments
black bands on
lower segments
with only a narrow
medial black line up
the rest of the back.
LEFT: Banded Demoiselle,
female. They are a metallic
green/bronze colour, with no
smudge on their yellowish
wings — and just as beautiful
as the male!
The Banded Demoiselle, Calopteryx splendens is one of two stunning species of damselfly which are larger than other damselfly species found in Ireland. Also, unlike the other damselflies, they are able to lay their eggs in quietly
flowing water. These Banded Demoiselles were seen and photographed on a bright June day on the banks of the Boyle Canal, in Co. Roscommon. They are very sensitive to pollution, so their appearance in good numbers by the
canal (June 2017) was a good sign. We must remember to check them out again in 2021?
Banded demoiselle Calopteryx splendens
LEFT
Male Banded demoiselle, with metallic
green sheen on body, and conspicuous
dark smudge on wings.
The males can be a striking metallic
green or blue colour, which can quickly
change from one to the other,
depending on the light conditions…
See the two images, RIGHT. In the upper
one the damselfly appears green (cloud
was covering the sun) and in the lower
one (taken 30 seconds later as the sun
came out) it now has a blue sheen!
BELOW:
There is a conspicuous large dark 'smudge' on the semi transparent wings of
the male Banded Demoiselle. This is one of the differences between this species
and the other demoiselle found in Ireland
The Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) has wings that are uniformly
dark — looking black from afar. We have never seen that species here in the
west or north west, though we used to see it in good numbers in west Cork
many years ago. It is, apparently, a more southerly species, found below an
imaginary line from Dublin to Galway.
A striking colour
‘change’ . Notice the
shadow from the sun
in lower picture…
What a poser!
These two pictures of a female are not
the same images though they were
taken at the same time and probably
the same insect.
The image ABOVE more clearly
represents the head and thorax and
the picture RIGHT shows the whole
animal.
The way the stem is clasped in both
images, and the position of the feet
and the angle of the body is the same!
It must be an instinctive skill repeated
all the time to allow a good look
around her territory?
These Demoiselles
come out to play in
warm and calm
conditions. From afar
they can be detected
by their bouncing type
of flight somewhat
different from both
Damselflies and
Dragonflies.
In trying to capture them
we were surprised by their
changing colour.
These images are of the
same single male and the
colour change simply
reflected rapidly changing
weather from sunshine to
cloudy. We checked camera
white balance and, even
allowing for this, this
species does seem to
appear different and its
hard to describe them as
either blue or green.
Photographing this Species.
Like all of Odonata (Damselflies) these are fast moving and unpredictable
insects, only rarely pausing to rest in a location convenient for the
photographer. A long lens will bridge the gap between specimen and hunter!
But a fixed focus lens is clearer and faster than a zoom with much less
distortion and artifacts. We recommend a macro lens of 85 to 105mm such as
the Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8. The 90mm range provides 1:1 images at a
reasonable distance and combined with a 24MP camera with fast accurate
focus will leave nothing to chance!
Female Blue-tailed damselfly, early ‘rufescens stage
FEMALE
(ABOVE and BELOW)
In the female, there are three colour forms with varying amounts
of black on the body and red or yellow on the thorax. Examples of
these differences are shown in theres two images.
(A ‘black female’ is shown in the courtship section at the bottom
of this page!)