Island Bluetail
(Ischnura genei)

The Island Bluetail replaces the Common Bluetail on some Mediterranean Islands (e.g. Corsica and Sardinia, where the two species are not known to coexist). Our photographs of Ischnura genei were all made on the latter island. It's a small and slender damselfly which tends to be a bit smaller and daintier than the Common Bluetail. Its main distinguishing features include the black abdomen, which in males carries a striking blue tail-light on S8. Some female colour forms too have a blue tail-light on S8 but it tends to be interrupted by a black mark on either end. In some other female colour forms S8 is rusty brown. The male's pterostigma is bi-coloured (as it is in Ischnura elegans). The various female colour forms are illustrated in our photographs below.

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