Agrion de Mercure (Coenagrion mercuriale)
• English name: Mercury Bluet
• German name: Helm-Azurjungfer
• French name: Agrion de Mercure
• Dutch name: Mercuurwaterjuffer
• Swedish name: Hjälmflickslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Azzurrina di Mercurio
• Czech name: šidélko přilbovité
• Slovenian name: Brzični škratec
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Agrion de Mercure
(Coenagrion mercuriale)
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 small species which is reasonably common in Iberia, France, Germany and Italy | |
| Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Near Threatened | |
| Scientific name | • Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) | |
| Name genus | • Coenagrion: from Grk. κοινός = common, widespread +; ἄγριος = wild, living in the fields | |
| Name species | • mercuriale: after the Mercury symbol (☿) ⇒ for the shape of the black mark on the male's S2 | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • well-vegetated streams and ditches | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 27-31 mm; hindwing: 12-21 mm | |
| Both sexes | Wings | ➤ the pterostigma is dark grey with a black centre |
| Male | Abdomen | • the black mark on S2 resembles Mercury's helmet |
| ➤ for a comparison of the male's appendages with those of C. caerulescens and C. scitulum, click or tap here | ||
| Female | Thorax | ➤ the hind margin of the pronotum has a small lobe in the middle; see also the LineDrawing below |
| Abdomen | • the top of the abdomen is mostly black with blue-ringed segment borders between S8, S9 and S10 | |
| Photographs | • most of our photos below were made in Tuscany and the south of Italy and show the subspecies C. m. castellani |
LineDrawing: the female's pronotum in dorsal and lateral view.
