Blue Featherleg
(Platycnemis pennipes)

The Blue Featherleg is a fairly large damselfly. It's a very common and widespread species throughout Europe except in Iberia (where it is replaced by the White and Orange Featherlegs) and parts of the British Isles and Scandinavia. Characteristically for the species in this genus, male Platycnemis pennipes have wide, white shins. The male abdomen is a pale blue. Females are a creamy white which with time darkens to become orangey brown. Other distinguishing features include the male's blue eyes, the double antehumeral stripes and the uniformly-coloured golden pterostigma.

For an overview of the Blue 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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