''Erythromma najas'', the red-eyed damselfly, is a member of the

Coenagrionidae Coenagrionidae is a family of damselflies, also known as pond damselflies, in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 spec ...

family of

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies (which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Epiprocta) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the win ...

Appearance

The species is a small damselfly, long, predominantly black with iridescent blue markings. The male resembles blue-tailed damselflies ('' Ischnura'' species) but is distinguished by its large, spaced eyes that are a deep red. It is very similar to the small red-eyed damselfly (''Erythromma viridulum''). Red-eyed damselfly (Erythromma najas) teneral male.jpg, teneral male Red-eyed damselfly (Erythromma najas) female.jpg, female

Behaviour

Males typically spend much of their time perched on the leaves of floating vegetation such as

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' ( ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artistic production during ...

or mats of

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

References

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External links

* * Coenagrionidae Damselflies of Europe Insects described in 1823 Taxa named by Johann Wilhelm Adolf Hansemann {{Coenagrionidae-stub