Rød vandnymfe (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)
• English name: Large Red Damsel
• German name: Frühe Adonislibelle
• French name: Petite nymphe au corps de feu
• Dutch name: Vuurjuffer
• Swedish name: Röd flickslända
• Norwegian name: Rød vannymfe
• Finnish name: Punatytönkorento
• Danish name: Rød vandnymfe
• Italian name: Scintilla zampenere
• Czech name: šidélko ruměnné
• Slovenian name: Rani plamenec
• Bulgarian name: Чернокрако огнивче
Rød vandnymfe (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)
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 fairly large species with red eyes and a red-and-black body which is most common in central and northern Europe | |
Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
Scientific name | • Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Sulzer, 1776) | |
Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
Habitat | • in Central and Northern Europe mainly at standing waters; in the South and East mainly at running waters | |
Dimensions | • typical body length: 33-36 mm; hindwing: 19-24 mm | |
Notes | • the amount of red on the eyes, thorax and abdomen may be very limited or even absent (as it is in the form melanotum) | |
Both sexes | Head | • the eyes are red or brown and traversed by two dark horizontal lines |
Thorax | • the antehumeral stripe is wide | |
Wings | • the pterostigma is uniformly dark | |
Legs | • the legs are black | |
Male | Abdomen | ➤ compared to P. elisabethae the lower appendages are shorter and the ventral hook is longer; click or tap here for a schematic and a photographic overview of these differences |
Female | Thorax | ➤ unlike in P. elisabethae there are no deep folds in the pronotum; click or tap here for a schematic and a photographic overview |
Photographs | • most of our photos below were made in Tuscany and the Netherlands |