Ischnura pumilio
• English name: Small Bluetail
• German name: Kleine Pechlibelle
• French name: Agrion nain
• Dutch name: Tengere grasjuffer
• Swedish name: Mindre kustflickslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Keritytönkorento
• Danish name: Lille farvevandnymfe
• Italian name: Codazzurra minore
• Czech name: šidélko malé
• Slovenian name: Bledi kresničar
• Bulgarian name: Малко бръсниче
Ischnura pumilio
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015

Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
General | • a very small species which is common throughout Europe except the north of Scandinavia and Finland and on Cyprus | |
Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
Scientific name | • Ischnura pumilio (Charpentier, 1825) | |
Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
Habitat | • shallow still or slow-flowing waters with sparse vegetation | |
Dimensions | • typical body length: 26-31 mm; hindwing: 14-18 mm | |
Male | Thorax | • the lower side of the thorax and the antehumeral stripe are green or blue |
Abdomen | ➤ the abdomen is black on top, but the distal part of S8 and all of S9 are sky blue | |
Wings | ➤ the pterostigma in the forewing is considerably larger than that in the hindwing and it is bicoloured: black on the inside, white on the outside; the pterostigma in the hindwing is uniformly beige/brown | |
Female | Thorax | • in immature females the side of the thorax is bright orange (a colour form known as aurantiaca); with age this orange colour is gradually replaced by green |
• in androchrome females the side of the thorax is blue or green | ||
• females lack an antehumeral stripe | ||
Abdomen | ➤ the abdomen is black on top, without a tail-light | |
• the abdomen has a vulvar spine underneath S8 | ||
Wings | • the pterostigma is uniformly beige/brown in both wings | |
Photographs | • all of our photos below were made in Tuscany |