Species group · Insects

Damselflies

WAnimals has 3 species of damselfly, spread across 3 families (Calopterygidae, Coenagrionidae, Lestidae).

3 species

3 families

56 countries

153 parks

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.

All 3 species of damselflies on WAnimals

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

Beautiful Demoiselle

Calopteryx virgo

Common Spreadwing

Lestes sponsa

Blue-Tailed Damselfly

Ischnura elegans

2 Least Concern1 Not Evaluated

No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.

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

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.
From Beautiful Demoiselle
Like the rest of the dragonflies and damselflies, the male can use his copulatory organ to remove the sperm of previous males before mating.
From Beautiful Demoiselle
Its presence indicates good-quality water with bankside vegetation: it disappears from channelised or unshaded stretches.
From Beautiful Demoiselle
Its genus, Lestes, comes from the Greek lestes, thief or pirate.
From Common Spreadwing
Unlike most damselflies, it holds its wings partly open when perched, a characteristic trait of the whole family Lestidae.
From Common Spreadwing
In central and northern Europe it is the commonest lestid, but on the Iberian Peninsula it is scarce.
From Common Spreadwing
Its one unique diagnostic feature is a strongly marked dorsal projection on the pronotum, visible with a ten-times hand lens.
From Blue-Tailed Damselfly
It is one of the most widespread and abundant dragonflies and damselflies in Europe, from Ireland and north-western Iberia to Japan.
From Blue-Tailed Damselfly