Calopteryx splendens
Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1780)
Local names: Banded demoiselle, Gebänderte Prachtlibelle, Weidebeekjuffer, Caloptéryx éclatant, Caloptéryx splendide, Blåbandad jungfruslända
Species Information
Description
Slender and metallic coloured damselfly with a rather wobbly flight, much resembling a butterfly. Wings taper gradually towards the base.
The male is metallic blue in colour and has wings with a dark band (pale blue in tenerals) extending up to the node (note that C. haemorrhoidalis coloured portion extend well beyond the node). The apical part of the wing is hyaline and even in those subspecies with a larger blue portion, at least the two or three rows of cells furthest toward the tip are hyaline. The females are metallic green in colour, with pale green-brown wings and white pseudopterostigma (false wing spot). In males the pterostigma is absent. Female wings are notably less transparen than C. virgo and has no darker band like C. haemorrhoidalis. Both sexes have completely black legs, also the thibiae (unlike C. haemorrhoidalis).
Size
Habitat
The species favours unshaded streams and rivers and is generally absent from torrents and shaded waters.
The highest densities occur when the watercourse is relatively natural,
although the species can also be found on sections that are more man-made as long as
sufficient bank side vegetation is present.
More rarely it is found in ditches and canals with some current as well as in
seepage-fed backwaters of rivers.
The species is restricted to low and middle elevations below 1 200 m.
Summer water temperature ideally ranges from 18 to 24 degree Celsius.
Distribution
Wide-spread in the Western Palearctic, from the Atlantic coast of Europe to central Siberia. In Europe it is common in most parts, however absent from Scotland and northern Fennoscandia and on the Iberian Peninsula, where it is replaced by C. xanthostoma.
Flight Period
April to September
Behavior
Mostly found near running waters where it can be found in large numbers. Isolated adults can be found far from water, in clearings and woods.
Conservation Status
Similar Species
Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis, Calopteryx virgo, Calopteryx xanthosthoma
External Links
Genus: Calopteryx
Calopteryx is a genus of large damselflies belonging to the family Calopterygidae.
Identification
The damselflies of the Calopteryx genus, also called Demoiselles or Jewelwings are all broad-winged damselflies with metallic bodies and veins. Males are colourful, mostly blue, and have extensively colured wings. Females also metallic, but green or brown. Their wings are clear to brown. Sometimes, but rarely, females develop male colours. Their legs are noticeably long and thin, with long and very numerous bristles. The wings are exceptionally densely veined, with 18 or more antenodal veins. Males lack pterostigma and females have pale pseudopterostigma, which are not as conspicuous as ordinary pterostigma and are crossed by veins.
Separation from other genera
Diagnostic features are coloration, metallic bodies, the dense venation and colouration of the wings and the absence of pterosstigma. Lestes species are also metallic but smaller and have narrow and hyaline wings. The large Epallage wings are similar but has no metallic sheen, also their legs spines are short and they have long pterostigma.
Behaviour
Calopteryx perch with a distinctive resting posture, with raised abdomen and closed wings. Both males and females are found anear flowing water, often in great numbers. Males are very territorial near suitable oviposition sites, with submerged aquatic vegetation. The males try to attract females with aerial displays, and any females are courted intensely as soon as they appear near water. Often gathers in large bankside roosts in the evenings.
Family: Calopterygidae
Calopterygidae are a family of damselflies, in the suborder Zygoptera. They are commonly known as the broad-winged damselflies, demoiselles, or jewelwings. These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 50–80 mm and are often metallic-coloured. The family contains some 150 species.
The Calopterygidae are found on every continent except Antarctica. They live along rivers and streams.