Leste enfant (Sympecma paedisca)
• English name: Siberian Winter Damsel
• German name: Sibirische Winterlibelle
• French name: Leste enfant
• Dutch name: Noordse winterjuffer
• Swedish name: Sibirisk vinterflickslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: Idänkirsikorento
• Danish name: Siberisk vintervandnymfe
• Italian name: Invernina delle brughiere
• Czech name: šídlatka kroužkovaná
• Slovenian name: Vzhodni zimnik
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Leste enfant (Sympecma paedisca)
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 of north-eastern Europe with scattered populations further west | |
| Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Lestidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Sympecma paedisca (Brauer, 1877) | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Notes | • folds its wing together along one side of the abdomen when at rest | |
| • very similar to the more widespread S. fusca | ||
| • 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 | ||
| Habitat | • any still water with a rich vegetation and floating dead reeds, grasses, etc. | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 36-39 mm; hindwing: 18-22 mm | |
| 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 a small bulge in the dark dorsal stripe | ||
| 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 Bavaria |
