Azure Damselfly

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Azure Damselfly

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Family:	Coenagrionidae
Genus:	Coenagrion
Species:	C. puella

Binomial name

Coenagrion puella
Linnaeus, 1758

The Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) is a species of damselfly found in most of Europe. It is remarkable for its distinctive black and blue colouring.

1 Morphology
- 1.1 Adults
  - 1.1.1 Males
  - 1.1.2 Females
- 1.2 Larvae
2 Behaviour
3 External links

[edit] Morphology

[edit] Adults

[edit] Males

Adult male Azure damselflies have a head and thorax patterned with blue and black. They have an azure blue abdomen patterned with black markings. The marking on segment two is U-shaped, usually separated from the segment's narrow terminal black band, but sometimes joined to it by a short central bar. 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 9 are sky-blue, forming a noticeable contrasting patch, but there are small dark markings on the rear upperside of segment nine, which adult male Common Blue Damselfly doesn't possess.

[edit] Females

Adult female Azure Damselflies have a head and thorax pattern similar to that of the male, but with dull green replacing the blue colour. The abdominal segments are largely black in colour, with narrow pale markings at the junction between each segment.

[edit] Larvae

The larvae 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.

[edit] Behaviour

Mature adults are seen frequently mating and laying eggs. It usually stays close to the vegetation around the pond or lake and flies from May to September.