| Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840)) |
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Scientific name: Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) Common name: Southern Damselfly French name: Agrion de mercure Order: Odonata Suborder: Zygoptera Family: Coenagrionidae Wingspan: 40 mm. Biotope: Small brooks, sunny ditches with water vegetation and vegetation on the banks. Geographic area: North Africa, Iberian peninsula, France, Italy, Benelux, southern United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia. Flight time: Mid-may to mid-August, a little earlier and up to September in North Africa where there may be 2 generations. |
The Southern Damselfly is a blue small damselfly. Males bare the symbol of the roman god Mercury, the shape of a bull head or a helmet with horns, on the second segment of the abdomen. Segments S3 à S6 are seldom black on more than half of the surface. Segment S7 is always blue at the base. Coenagrion caerulescens and Coenagrion scitulum are totally black on S6 and S7. Furthermore these last ones have light coloured pterostigma, it is dark on Coenagrion mercuriale. The blue postocular lobes are well rounded, they are ragged on the rear border on Coenagrion ornatum. Erythromma lindenii has reduced postocular lobes and light coloured pterostigmas. Coenagrion puella has lateral black lines between S3 and S6. Females are almost totally dark. Southern damselflies are sensitive to water quality and this species is listed on the red list of threatened species. |
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This Southern Damselfly was flying among Azure Damselflies and I have noticed a different blue colour. You cannot clearly see the mark on the second abdomen's segment but the other criteria enable to confirm Coenagrion mercuriale by eliminating other possible species. |
André Bon June 2010