Iberian Bluetail – Ischnura graellsii – European Dragonfly photo

The Iberian Bluetail ( Ischnura graellsii ) is a slightly smaller counterpart to the Common Bluetail – Blue-tailed Damselfly ( Ischnura elegans ) and is confined to Iberia and North Africa where it is again abundant on all types of water. Females of the former hybridise with males of the latter in northern Spain.

KEY I/D FEATURES :

Males have a slightly shorter abdomen than the Common Bluetail – Ischnura elegans and also may have smaller (or even non-existant) postocular spots and antehumeral stripes.

Females again come in three colour forms with the immature thorax being greeny- yellow in Type A, pale lilac in Type B and orange in Type C.