Mediterranean Bluet
(Coenagrion caerulescens)

The Mediterranean Bluet is one of a trio of very similar-looking Mediterranean species of the genus Coenagrion, the other two being C. mercuriale and C. scitulum. Coenagrion caerulescens is a small, black-and-blue damselfly. It has a limited distribution with scattered populations in Iberia and France, and only on the East coast of Spain and in Italy is the species reasonably common and numerous. Its main distinguishing features include the triangular shape of the pterostigma, its preference for running rather than stagnant waters, and the female's pale coloration, wide antehumeral stripes and oversized postocular spots. Our best site for the species to date, a small stream with a rocky bed, dried up completely during the hot and dry summer of 2007, but in the two following summers the species managed to stage a remarkable come-back.

For an overview of the Mediterranean Bluet's distribution in Europe, hover your mouse pointer over the map symbol .
With the authors' permission we have based this map on data published in Kalkman et al. (2010).
Legend: Red = Occurs, White = Doesn't occur; Purple = Extinct; Yellow = Vagrant.

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