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Scare Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura pumilio

Size

Small; body length 20mm to 25mm.

Colour-patterning

Males are largely black with a pair of blue stripes on the thorax behind the eyes. The posterior half of the eighth abdominal segment and the whole of the ninth are also coloured blue. Females appear in two very different forms. Typically, females have a pair of greenish bands on the thorax behind the eyes and an uniformly dark abdomen which lacks the blue tail of the male. Alternatively, and commonly in Plymouth, the females have an orange-brown thorax, a colouration which extends back over the first two or three segments of the abdomen which is otherwise black. In this form there is a central black band behind the eyes on the thorax.

Behaviour

This species favours bogs, seepages and shallow ponds with dense marginal vegetation where it spends much of its time. It particularly favours old mineral extraction sites. It is a very weak flier and prefers the cover of marginal vegetation to venturing out over water. Mating occurs in vegetation and the pair separate before the female lays her eggs in surface vegetation.

Where to look for it

There are few suitable habitats in Plymouth and its only known site is on private property. However, it could also occur in the neighbouring areas of Wixenford and Saltram.

Distribution and status

Very rare; nationally notable.

When to look for it

Late May to August.

Similar species

This species can only be confused with the Common Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans. The Scarce blue-tailed Damselfly, in its typical form, can be identified by the whole of the ninth and the posterior half of the eighth abdominal segments being a distinctive blue colour. The orange female form of the Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly can be separated from orange forms of the Common Blue Damselfly by the lack of differential colouring on its eighth and ninth abdominal segments.

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