The azure damselfly (''Coenagrion puella'') is a species of

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...

found in most of Europe. It is notable for its distinctive black and blue colouring. They are commonly found around ponds and lakesides during the summer.

Morphology

Adults

Males

Adult male azure damselflies have a head and thorax patterned with blue and black. They have an azure blue

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

patterned with black markings. The marking on the second segment of the abdomen is U-shaped, separated from the segment's narrow terminal black band. (This distinguishes it from the variable damselfly where the U-shape is joined to the terminal band with a black line.) Segments three to five are blue with broader black terminal bands, lacking the forward-pointing projection the upper surface which adult male common blue damselfly has. Segment six has a similar pattern but with more restricted blue and a broader area of black, and segment seven is mostly black, with just a narrow blue area at the base. Segment eight and much of segment nine are sky-blue, forming a noticeable contrasting patch, but there are small dark markings on the rear upper side of segment nine, which adult male common blue damselfly does not possess. File:Coenagrionidae2.jpg, immature File:Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) male juvenile.jpg, juvenile File:Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) male.jpg, young adult male

Females

Adult female azure damselflies have a head and thorax pattern similar to that of the male, but with glittering, glossy green replacing the blue coloring. The abdominal segments are largely black in coloring, with narrow pale markings at the junction between each segment. File:Coenagrion puella LC0362.jpg, female newly emerged Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) female green form.jpg, female, green form

Nymphs

The nymphs are usually green with browner wing buds and lamellae. They develop in one year (two in the north), feeding among submerged vegetation and on small invertebrates.

Behaviour

Mature adults are seen frequently

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually rep ...

and laying eggs. It usually stays close to the vegetation around the pond or lake and flies from May to September. This common damselfly looks very like a common blue damselfly. The behaviour is also different - unlike common blues, they rarely fly out over large stretches of water. They are not normally as common around August and September, June and July being the peak of their populations. Image:Coenagrionidae Exuvie.jpg, Freshly emerged with

exuvia In biology, exuviae are the remains of an exoskeleton and related structures that are left after ecdysozoans (including insects, crustaceans and arachnids) have moulted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to biologists as they can often be ...

Image:Coenagrion puella Paarung1.JPG, mating, female green form File:Azure damselflies mating (Coenagrion puella) female green form.jpg, mating, female green form Image:HufeisenAzurjungfernEiablage1.JPG, laying eggs, ovipositing File:Azure Damselflies, laying eggs.jpg, laying eggs, ovipositing File:Coenagrion puella.ogv, thumbtime=47, mating

References

External links

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Coenagrion puella - Azure damselfly

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1049823 Coenagrionidae Damselflies of Europe Damselflies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Articles containing video clips