Common Blue Damselfly
Enallagma cyathigerum
The male is typically blue and black. The blue antehumeral stripes appear broader than in the Coenagrion species. The mark on the second abdominal segment is a black roundish spot with a stalk descending from it. The usual female form is dark with dull green replacing the blue areas of the male. Careful observation will reveal a ventral spine projecting from segment 8, not present in female Coenagrions.
This is a common and widespread county species, second only to the Blue-tailed Damselfly in abundance and distribution. It can tolerate a wide range of habitat and water conditions. Numbers can sometimes be spectacular, appearing almost as swarms over the water surface and often well out into the middle of largish lakes. This phenomenon can readily be observed on the lakes at Whisby Nature Park near Lincoln, for example.
It is on the wing from late May to early September and is common and widespread nationally.
Distribution map
