Orange Featherleg
(Platycnemis acutipennis)

Unlike its common and widespread stablemate Platycnemis pennipes, the Orange Featherleg has a very limited distribution, occurring only in parts of France and Iberia, where it lives in reasonably fast-flowing rivers and streams. The male Platycnemis acutipennis must surely rank among Europe's prettiest damselflies, with its orange abdomen and light-blue eyes. The female too has a (pale) orange abdomen but her eyes are greyish. Size-wise P. acutipennis is maybe a touch daintier than pennipes. We made our photographs of this species during a field trip to the Ardèche in the South of France.

For an overview of the Orange Featherleg'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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