Flagermus-vandnymfe (Coenagrion pulchellum)

• English name: Variable Bluet
• German name: Fledermaus-Azurjungfer
• French name: Agrion joli
• Dutch name: Variabele waterjuffer
• Swedish name: Mörk lyrflickslända
• Norwegian name: Variabel blåvannymfe
• Finnish name: Sirotytönkorento
• Danish name: Flagermus-vandnymfe
• Italian name: Azzurrina variabile
• Czech name: šidélko širokoskvrnné
• Slovenian name: Suhljati škratec
• Bulgarian name: Ивичесто пъстриче

Flagermus-vandnymfe (Coenagrion pulchellum)

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, fairly common in central and northern Europe but much rarer in the south; the black markings on the thorax and abdomen are subject to considerable variation; similar to C. puella
Classification		• suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae
Conservation status		• IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern
Scientific name		• Coenagrion pulchellum (Vander Linden, 1825)
Distribution		• click or tap the Map button above
Habitat		• any pond or lake, especially with non-acidic water
Dimensions		• typical body length: 34-38 mm; hindwing: 16-23 mm
Both sexes	Wings	• the pterostigma is uniformly dark grey to black
Male	Thorax	➤ the narrow antehumeral stripe is heavily constricted or even interrupted so that effectively it resembles an exclamation mark
	Abdomen	• the abdomen has a Y-shaped mark on S2
		➤ the amount of black dorsally on S3, S4 and S5 tends to increase, with a minimum of about 20% on S3 to 25% on S4 to 30% on S5
		• in side view the lower part of S3-S5 bears long black lines
Female	Thorax	➤ the hind margin of the pronotum has two deep incisions, creating three separate lobes; see also the LineDrawing below
	Abdomen	• the top of the abdomen is mostly black with some coloured spots at the segment borders
Photographs		• most of our photos below were made in Italy, northern France and the Netherlands

LineDrawing: the female's pronotum in dorsal and lateral view.

Coenagrion pulchellum; thorax
Note: By contrast, the antehumeral stripe in C. puella is uninterrupted and unconstricted.

Coenagrion puella (top) and C. pulchellum (bottom); abdomen, male
Note the increasing amount of black on S3, S4 and S5 in C. pulchellum.

Twelve Coenagrion species; pronotum, female
Note: In C. pulchellum the hind margin of the pronotum has two deep incisions, creating three separate lobes.

Variable Bluet (Coenagrion pulchellum)
Female pronotum in dorsal and lateral view
Drawing by Ruth Ilka Nüß
© 2017 Lehmann & Nüß and DragonflyPix.com