Common blue damselfly

Insect

Illustration of common blue damselfly
Common blue damselfly

Enallagma cyathigerum

The male has a blue abdomen with black spots; the female, a yellow or bluish abdomen with variable dark markings. This species is common throughout Britain.

They appear to drift through the air, and they snatch their prey from vegetation. Damselflies rest with their wings folded lengthways along their body.

During mating, the male clasps the female by her neck while she bends her body around to his reproductive organs – this is called a mating wheel. The pair flies together over the water and eggs are laid within a suitable plant, just below the surface.

The eggs hatch and the larvae, called nymphs, live in the water. Nymphs climb out of the water up a suitable stem to moult into damselflies.