Damselfly for ID please

[pressld2]

This one's got me beat. It's the first damselfly I've ever seen with wings that aren't clear. They are a smoky blue.

Unfortunately I only managed two shots and neither show the markings on the abdominal segments very clearly. Here they are along with crops of the head, thorax, legs and what can be seen of S2...





What I can see of the S2 marking makes me lean towards common blue but then the pterostigma should be black and there aren't enough stripes on the thorax. And I keep stumbling over the blue wings - nothing has those!

Help!

Dave P.

[JRsbugs]

I think it's a Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans f. infuscans-obsoleta.

The pterostigma are a good clue, plus the colour. The wings might have got something on them, I had a darter once with waxy looking wings as though it had dipped them in wax.

Janet

[Ukwildlifeo]

Hi Dave. I think the wings are blue because its recently emerged which would also explain the lack of body colour, coloured pterostigma and thorax markings. It looks like it has the thistle head shape marking on the 2nd abdomenal segment which would mean its a male common blue damselfly.

Im 99% sure this is the case but probably best tow ait for Steve or Ashnea or one of the other experts to be sure!

[JRsbugs]

Yes it could be newly emerged, I had thought that too but the tail end looks dull and aged as these do.

It's a female, here's mine, blue tinted wings too..and that 'thistle' shape

[Wild-Woman]

I agree with Blue-tailed, rufescens-odsoleta.

[RoyW]

This is a Blue-tailed Damselfly, as has already been said. I would say that it is certainly a recently emerged individual, which would explain the indistinct markings, the milky wing colour (due to fluids still being present in the wings), and the very pale pterostigma (altough Blue-tails often have largely pale pterostigmas when mature).
The immature form would berufescens - (rufescens/ infuscans-obsoleta) being the mature form.


...I might change my mind later when I view these on a proper screen, instead of my phone!

[Ukwildlifeo]

Well I did say I was only 99% sure it was common blue! JRsBugs posted as I typed my reply (the "wait for an expert" was refering to my reply rather than hers btw) and looking again, blue tailed does look more likely

[pressld2]

Many thanks everyone. I'd guessed it was either freshly emerged or very old and faded but still couldn't pin down a species. There were lots of other blue-taileds around so that and common blue (because of the S2 marking) where what I looked at first. Then I discounted them because of the pterostigma.

Thanks again,

Dave P.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by pressld2

I'd guessed it was either freshly emerged or very old and faded

After having a closer look on my PC, I think that Janets original suggestion of an old individual is the correct one in this case. The dorsal side of S8 seems to be similar in colour to the rest of the upperside of the abdomen - it should always be pale in a recently emerged Blue-tailed Damselfly. The wings may look the way they do because they are wet, after the damselfly has partially submerged while ovipositing, and this is causing them to reflect light in a strange way (only a suggestion, but the wing bases are still clear so it may be a possibility).

[Fourwings]

Yep, definately Blue-tailed.