Beautiful Demoiselle
(Calopteryx virgo)

The Beautiful Demoiselle is a large damselfly. Like all European Calopteryx species, its flight is fluttery and butterfly-like and - uniquely among European odonata - Calopteryx males engage in a dazzling display flight to attract females into their territories. The Beautiful Demoiselle occurs throughout all of Europe but - given its preference for fairly fast-flowing shady streams and brooks with an excellent water quality - it tends to be quite rare compared to the other species of the same genus. Here in Tuscany we've managed to find only two local streams where it occurs in good numbers - quite a rarity therefore compared to the Copper and Banded Demoiselles (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis and C. splendens), which occur at pretty much any type of running water. Calopteryx virgo's most distinctive features include the white underside of the last three segments of the male's abdomen, the male's wings which are virtually completely dark blue, the female's wings which are typically smoky-brown rather than green, and the wing shape of both sexes: compared to the narrow, pointed wings of the Copper and Banded Demoiselles, the Beautiful Demoiselle's wings are wider, more rounded and spoon-shaped.

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