Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) lives in freshwater streams and small rivers across Europe and Western Asia. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Banded Demoiselle
- A banded demoiselle can stretch up to 48 mm long, with hindwings reaching 36 mm, about the length of a small paperclip. The male's wings sport a glossy blue-black band that may extend from the nodus to the tip in southern races, while females carry pale green wings with a tiny white spot near the tip. This size lets them zip through the narrow gaps between river reeds, hunting tiny insects that larger dragonflies would miss, and makes them a key predator in streamside food webs.
- The banded demoiselle spans the whole of Eurasia, from the Atlantic coast all the way to Lake Baikal and north-western China, and even dots the British Isles except the Scottish Highlands. It prefers open, slow-flowing streams and small rivers, often perched on bankside plants or floating debris.
- A female banded demoiselle can dump a clutch of eggs at break-neck speed, up to 10 eggs each minute for a continuous 45-minute bout. all tucked into the stems of emergent or floating plants, sometimes even underwater.
- After hatching in about two weeks, the larvae of the banded demoiselle spend nearly two full years crawling through mud and detritus before they finally climb a reed and shed their skin to become adults.
- Male banded demoiselles are territorial, while flashing their iridescent wings in a courtship dance that looks like a tiny aerial ballet.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEurope and Western Asia
HabitatFreshwater streams and small rivers
DietInsects and larvae
About the Banded Demoiselle
As the warm sunlight dances across the gentle ripples of a serene stream, the Banded Demoiselle emerges, its iridescent blue body glimmering like a shard of splintered sky. With delicate, almost ethereal, movements, it flits and flutters, its slender wings beating at a hypnotic pace as it navigates the intricate tapestry of aquatic vegetation. In this tranquil realm, the Banded Demoiselle reigns, a resplendent and unassuming monarch, its beauty woven into the very fabric of the natural world.
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