Mercury Bluet
(Coenagrion mercuriale)

The Mercury Bluet is one of a trio of very similar-looking Mediterranean species of the genus Coenagrion, the other two being C. caerulescens and C. scitulum. Coenagrion mercuriale is a small, black-and-blue damselfly. It's fairly widely distributed throughout Iberia, France, Italy and Germany but is seldom found in large populations. The species' main distinguishing features include its dark-centred pterostigma, its preference for running rather than stagnant waters, and the female's blue-ringed segment boundaries between S8, S9 and S10.

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