Coenagrion puella (Linnaeus, 1758) The “Azure Damselfly”
Length: Adults average 33 to 36mm
Family: Coenaprionidae
Widespread over most of Europe and is one of the commonest odonates to be found in most of the European countries. Spanning from the U.K. and southern Scandinavia in the North, into parts of Asia in the East and the fringes of North Africa to the south.
Females are mainly green with black markings along the “backbone” of the abdomen, differing to the male’s blue colouring. The male’s black markings can vary greatly in different countries.
Habitat: A wide range of water surfaces are preferred, especially ponds, also favours flowing waters and like most damselflies favours waters with well planted vegetation to the edges.
Flight season: April to September, peaking mid-May to the end of July.
Adults are seen frequently mating (as seen in some images below), and making the typical shape of a “wheel”, as the female disperses her eggs into the water.
The nymphs are usually green in colour, taking about two years to develop, in the warmer southern countries they develop within a year.