Stor farvevandnymfe (Ischnura elegans)
• English name: Common Bluetail
• German name: Grosse Pechlibelle
• French name: Agrion élégant
• Dutch name: Lantaarntje
• Swedish name: Större kustflickslända
• Norwegian name: Kystvannymfe
• Finnish name: Hoikkatytönkorento
• Danish name: Stor farvevandnymfe
• Italian name: Codazzurra comune
• Czech name: šidélko větší
• Slovenian name: Modri kresničar
• Bulgarian name: Синевърхо бръсниче
Stor farvevandnymfe (Ischnura elegans)
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, very common and widespread throughout Europe except Iberia, some Mediterranean islands and northern Scandinavia | |
Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
Scientific name | • Ischnura elegans (Vander Linden, 1820) | |
Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
Habitat | • any still or slow-flowing water with a rich vegetation and low acidity levels | |
Dimensions | • typical body length: 30-34 mm; hindwing: 14-21 mm | |
Notes | • belongs to the elegans group, together with I. genei, I. graellsii and I. saharensis | |
• co-occurs locally with I. genei (e.g. on the Tuscan islands of Elba and Giglio) and with I. graellsii (e.g. in Spain) | ||
• violacea and rufescens are immature female colour forms, which with age develop into one of the three mature forms: violacea (with its antehumeral stripe) into either typica or infuscans; rufescens (without an antehumeral stripe) into infuscans-obsoleta; see below for details | ||
Both sexes | Wings | • the pterostigma in the forewing is the same size as that in the hindwing |
Male | Thorax | • the lower side of the thorax and the antehumeral stripe (which may be narrow or even absent) are green/blue |
➤ the pronotum bears an upright projection | ||
Abdomen | ➤ the abdomen is black on top, but S8 is sky blue | |
Wings | • the pterostigma in the forewing is bicoloured: black on the inside, white on the outside; the pterostigma in the hindwing is uniformly beige/brown | |
Female | Thorax | • the side of the thorax is either green/blue (in the form typica), purple (in the form violacea), orange/pink (in the form rufescens), or green-orange-brown (in the forms infuscans and infuscans-obsoleta) |
• the antehumeral stripe is of the same colour as the side of the thorax (see above) but is absent in the forms rufescens and infuscans-obsoleta | ||
Abdomen | ➤ the abdomen is black on top, but S8 is sky blue in the forms typica, violacea and rufescens or brown in the forms infuscans and infuscans-obsoleta; this tail-light is usually uninterrupted | |
• the abdomen has a vulvar spine underneath S8 | ||
Wings | • the pterostigma is uniformly beige/brown in both wings | |
Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in Tuscany |