Bruine winterjuffer (Sympecma fusca)
• English name: Common Winter Damsel
• German name: Gemeine Winterlibelle
• French name: Leste brun
• Dutch name: Bruine winterjuffer
• Swedish name: Vinterflickslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Lännenkirsikorento
• Danish name: Vintervandnymfe
• Italian name: Invernina comune
• Czech name: šídlatka hnědá
• Slovenian name: Prisojni zimnik
• Bulgarian name: Зимно кротиче
Bruine winterjuffer (Sympecma fusca)
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 drab brown and beige species, common throughout Europe except the British Isles and Scandinavia | |
Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Lestidae | |
Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
Scientific name | • Sympecma fusca (Vander Linden, 1820) | |
Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
Habitat | • any still water with a rich vegetation and floating dead reeds, grasses, etc. | |
Dimensions | • typical body length: 34-39 mm; hindwing: 18-23 mm | |
Notes | • folds its wing together along one side of the abdomen when at rest | |
• very similar to S. paedisca | ||
• the two Sympecma species are the only European species that overwinter as adults | ||
• tends to whip its abdomen up and down a few times when alighting | ||
Both sexes | Head | • in mature animals the top of the eye bears a bright blue spot |
Thorax | • the upper part of the thorax is (coppery) brown; the lower part is beige | |
• in young animals the upper part of the thorax is metallic green | ||
➤ there is no bulge in the dark dorsal stripe (cf. S. paedisca) | ||
Abdomen | • the upper part of the abdomen is coppery brown; the lower part is beige | |
• in young animals the upper part of the abdomen is metallic green | ||
Wings | • the (dark) brown pterostigma is positioned closer to the tip in the forewing than in the hindwing; when the wings are folded together, the pterostigmas in the forewings are aligned behind those in the hindwings | |
Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in Tuscany |