Large Redeye
(Erythromma najas)

The Large Redeye is one of only two European species with red eyes but whose bodies are not predominantly red. Compared to its smaller stable mate the Small Redeye, Erythromma najas is a relatively large and robust damselfly. It's a mainly Central and Northern European species and within that range it tends to be common and numerous. Further South it's very rare; Italian records show only one population of Erythromma najas, at a lake in Lazio. The species' main distinguishing features include, obviously, its bright-red eyes (in the male; the female has rusty-brown eyes), the complete absence of antehumeral stripes (in the male; the female's antehumerals are heavily reduced), the black sides to the male's S2 and S8, and the uninterrupted blue tail-light on the male's abdomen (S9 and S10).

For an overview of the Large Redeye'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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