Damselflies

All 3 species of damselflies on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 56 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• The male performs a courtship dance before the female, opening and closing his wings and showing her the spot in the stream where she will be able to lay her eggs.

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• Like the rest of the dragonflies and damselflies, the male can use his copulatory organ to remove the sperm of previous males before mating.

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• Its presence indicates good-quality water with bankside vegetation: it disappears from channelised or unshaded stretches.

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• Its genus, Lestes, comes from the Greek lestes, thief or pirate.

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• Unlike most damselflies, it holds its wings partly open when perched, a characteristic trait of the whole family Lestidae.

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• In central and northern Europe it is the commonest lestid, but on the Iberian Peninsula it is scarce.

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• Its one unique diagnostic feature is a strongly marked dorsal projection on the pronotum, visible with a ten-times hand lens.

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Ecosystems