The Common Bluetail is a small damselfly whose males have a bright blue spot near the tip of the abdomen. It is widespread across Africa, the Middle East, and southern and eastern Asia, but it isn't found in the United States. It is also called the Marsh Bluetail or African Bluetail.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A slender damselfly about 1.25 in (32 mm) long. Males have black-capped, blue-green eyes, a black thorax with greenish-blue sides, and a sky-blue eighth abdominal segment near the tail tip. Green areas can turn bluer with age. Females come in two forms: one colored much like the male, and one with olive-green eyes topped with orange and dull brownish sides that grow paler as they mature.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Ponds
- Marshes
- Wetlands
- Range
- Found from Africa through the Middle East to southern and eastern Asia, including Japan and southern Korea. Not native to the Americas.
- Preferred conditions
- Breeds in marshes, weedy ponds, and wetlands, usually still or slow-moving water in the lowlands.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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