Blue-Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) lives in freshwater habitats across Europe and Asia. It feeds on small flying insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Blue-Tailed Damselfly
- Even if a wing is lost, the blue-tailed damselfly can still steer through the air and seize its prey. A recent study showed that individuals compensate for a whole wing loss and continue to manoeuvre with precision, catching insects as they would normally. These damselflies remain active flyers from April through early October, hunting small flying insects with basket-like legs.
- Some female blue-tailed damselflies adopt the male colour pattern, becoming androchromes that look just like the males. Because they resemble males, they suffer far fewer unwanted advances, as males are less inclined to harass them. To further deter mates, androchromes often spread their wings and curl their abdomens, while other morphs simply fly away. Their colour changes fully within a few days after leaving the water.
- When it is time to reproduce, a female blue-tailed damselfly drops her eggs onto floating plant fragments without any help from a male. The male is absent from this process, allowing the female to complete oviposition alone. Adults are on the wing from April to September, and they capture small insects by scooping them with their legs as they fly. This solitary egg-laying occurs in the same low-land waters they inhabit.
- Blue-tailed damselflies are agile hunters that can tweak each of their four wings independently to turn on a dime. Blue-tailed damselflies are superb fliers and can alter each of their four wings' kinematics in order to maneuver.
- They thrive in many lowland waters, even those that are salty or polluted. These damselflies can be found in a wide range of lowland environments, with standing and slow flowing waters, brackish and polluted water.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEurope and Asia
HabitatFreshwater habitats
DietSmall flying insects
About the Blue-Tailed Damselfly
As the sun dances across the serene waters, a fleck of iridescent blue darts through the air, the Blue-Tailed Damselfly weaving an intricate tapestry of movement, its delicate form slicing through the warm light with effortless precision. With a twitch of its slender body, it alights upon a reed, its large, gem-like eyes drinking in the world around it, ever vigilant for the slightest whisper of danger. In this tranquil realm, the Blue-Tailed Damselfly reigns supreme, its ethereal beauty and agile flight a testament to the wonders that thrive in the hidden corners of our natural world.
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Blue-Tailed Damselfly photographed on Feravox
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