| Beautiful Demoiselle | |
|---|---|
| Male C. virgo | |
| Female C. virgo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Family: | Calopterygidae |
| Genus: | Calopteryx |
| Species: | C. virgo |
| Binomial name | |
| Calopteryx virgo (Linnaeus, 1758) |
|
The Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is a European damselfly. It is often found among fast-flowing waters.
Contents |
The male has dark brown-black wingtips with blue veins. Immature insects often have much paler, browner wings. They have metallic blue-green bodies and blue-green eyes.
The female has dark brown iridescent wings, a white patch near the tip of the wings and a metallic green body with a bronze tip of the abdomen.
Females lay up to 300 eggs at a time on emergent or floating plants, often on water-crowfoot. Like the Banded Demoiselle, they often submerge to do so. The eggs hatch after around 14 days. Again, like the Banded Demoiselle, the larva is stick-like with long legs and develops over a period of two years in submerged vegetation, plant debris or roots. They usually overwinter in mud or slime.
Males are territorial, perching in bankside plants and trees. They chase passing insects, often returning to the same perch. Males can stray well away from water, females live away from water unless egg-laying or seeking a mate.
| Beautiful Demoiselles mating | Calopteryx virgo meridionalis Museum specimen |