About

A slender blue damselfly that is often confused with the paler Coenagrion puella. Males typically have blue exclamation marks on the ‘shoulders’ and black ‘Y’ at the abdomen base, rather than blue lines and a black ‘U’. The vernacular name refers to the variability of this species, particularly the females.

Size

Total: 34-38 mm.
Abdomen: 23-32 mm.
Hindwing: 16-23 mm.

Habitat

Wide range of still, occasionally slow-flowing, waters. These are typically lushly vegetated, non-acidic and meso- to eutrphic, such as oxbows and fenlands.

Flight Season

From April to mid September. Most abundant in late-May and June.

Range and Status

Common in Denmark.