Erythromma lindenii
• English name: Blue-Eye
• German name: Saphirauge
• French name: Agrion de Vander Linden
• Dutch name: Kanaaljuffer
• Swedish name: Pokalflickslända
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: Blåøjet vandnymfe
• Italian name: Occhirossi dubbia
• Czech name: šidélko Lindenovo
• Slovenian name: Prodni paškratec
• Bulgarian name: Синьо стреличе
Erythromma lindenii
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a small species with strikingly blue eyes which occurs mainly in central and southern Europe | |
| Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Erythromma lindenii (Selys, 1840) | |
| Name genus | • Erythromma: from Grk. ἐρυθρός = red +; ὄμμα = eye | |
| Name species | • lindenii: after Pierre Léonard Vander Linden (1797-1831), Belgian entomologist | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • well-vegetated lakes, reservoirs and canals | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 30-36 mm; hindwing: 19-21 mm | |
| Notes | • males tend to fly low and fast over open water and settle on emergent vegetation | |
| • used to be known as Cercion lindenii | ||
| Both sexes | Head | • the postocular spots are very narrow and may be absent altogether |
| Thorax | • the antehumeral stripe is very wide | |
| ➤ there is a long black line on the metapleural suture (cf. Enallagma cyathigerum ) | ||
| Wings | • the pterostigma is uniformly pale | |
| Male | Head | • the eyes are bright blue |
| Abdomen | • the black marks on S3-S5 are elongated and spear-headed | |
| ➤ S8 is black, S9 and S10 are blue, and the upper appendages are very long and curved inwards | ||
| Female | Head | • the eyes are brown/green |
| Abdomen | ➤ there is no vulvar spine underneath S8 (cf. Enallagma cyathigerum ) | |
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made in Tuscany |
Erythromma lindenii; thorax, male
Note: Such wide antehumeral stripes also occur in Enallagma cyathigerum but that species lacks the black line on the metapleural suture.
Enallagma cyathigerum (left) and Erythromma lindenii (right); S8-S10 and appendages, male
Note: in Enallagma cyathigerum S8 and S9 are blue, S10 is black and the appendages are short. In Erythromma lindenii S8 is black, S9 and S10 are blue and the appendages are long.
