Alpin smaragdlibel (Somatochlora alpestris)
• English name: Alpine Emerald
• German name: Alpen-Smaragdlibelle
• French name: Cordulie alpestre
• Dutch name: Taigaglanslibel
• Swedish name: Fjälltrollslända
• Norwegian name: Fjell-metalløyenstikker
• Finnish name: Aapakiiltokorento
• Danish name: Alpin smaragdlibel
• Italian name: Smeralda alpina
• Czech name: lesklice horská
• Slovenian name: Alpski lesketnik
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Alpin smaragdlibel (Somatochlora alpestris)
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 very dark, metallic-green species of the far north and north-east; also occurs at altitude in central Europe | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Corduliidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Somatochlora alpestris (Selys, 1840) | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • bog pools, puddles and lakes | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 45-50 mm; hindwing: 30-34 mm | |
| Notes | ➤ smaller and noticeably darker than Somatochlora metallica | |
| • very similar to S. sahlbergi with which it co-occurs in the far North | ||
| • cordulids are 'fliers': they spend a lot of time on the wing and seldom hang up for a rest | ||
| Both sexes | Head | • the eyes are green (brown in immature animals) |
| Abdomen | • S3 bears a narrow white ring on either end; the lower ring may be (partly) obscured | |
| • S4-S10 are uniformly black (or very dark green) | ||
| Wings | ➤ there are two cubito-anal crossveins in the forewing (as opposed to the usual single crossvein in all other European Somatochlora species) | |
| • the pterostigma is relatively dark-coloured | ||
| Male | Abdomen | ➤ the upper appendages are double-angled |
| Female | Abdomen | • there are no yellow spots on the abdomen |
| • compared to S. arctica the abdomen is short and thickset | ||
| ➤ the vulvar scale is triangular in shape | ||
| Photographs | • all of our photos below were made in northern Finland |
LineDrawing: the male's appendages in dorsal view.
