Stor blåpil (Orthetrum cancellatum)

• English name: Black-Tailed Skimmer
• German name: Grosser Blaupfeil
• French name: Orthétrum réticulé
• Dutch name: Gewone oeverlibel
• Swedish name: Större sjötrollslända
• Norwegian name: Stor blålibelle
• Finnish name: Merisinikorento
• Danish name: Stor blåpil
• Italian name: Frecciazzurra puntanera
• Czech name: vážka černořitná
• Slovenian name: Prodni modrač
• Bulgarian name: Черновърхо синилниче

Stor blåpil (Orthetrum cancellatum)

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 medium-sized species which is common throughout Europe except the far north
Classification		• suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Libellulidae
Conservation status		• IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern
Scientific name		• Orthetrum cancellatum (Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution		• click or tap the Map button above
Habitat		• lakes and ponds with bare banks
Dimensions		• typical body length: 44-50 mm; hindwing: 35-41 mm
Notes		• libellulids are 'sitters': males spend a lot of time perched at the water's edge, waiting for females
		• often perches on the ground
		• very similar to O. albistylum but with a broader abdomen and black appendages
Both sexes	Head	• the eyes are green (brown in immature animals)
	Thorax	• in immature animals the thorax is bright yellow with black lines
	Abdomen	• in immature animals the abdomen is bright yellow with black lines
	Wings	• the wings are hyaline, without coloured patches
Male	Thorax	• the thorax is dark brown
	Abdomen	• the abdomen is dark yellow with black lines and is covered by a light-blue pruinescence; the last three or four segments are mostly black
		➤ the upper appendages are black
Female	Thorax	• the thorax is yellow with black lines on the side
	Abdomen	• the abdomen is yellow with black lines laterally
		➤ the appendages are black
Photographs		• nearly all of our photos below were made in Tuscany