Variable damselfly

Variable damselfly
Male, shoulder stripe just broken, UK
Female, dark form, Estonia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Zygoptera
Family:	Coenagrionidae
Genus:	Coenagrion
Species:	C. pulchellum
Binomial name
Coenagrion pulchellum (Vander Linden, 1825)

The variable damselfly or variable bluet (Coenagrion pulchellum) is a European damselfly. Despite its name, it is not the only blue damselfly prone to variable patterning.

Its behaviour is much like that of the azure damselfly; it usually stays close to vegetation. Immatures are often found in adjacent meadows or uncut grassy areas.

The male variable damselfly has a distinctive "wine glass" marking on the second segment of the abdomen. This is a black U-shaped mark with a black line joining the segment's narrow terminal black band.¹ (This distinguishes it from the azure damselfly which has the U-shape but no line connecting it to the terminal band.)¹

• Male forms
• 
  Male
  S9 virtually unmarked
• 
  Male, shoulder stripe unbroken
• 
  Male, shoulder stripe broken
• 
  mating, with female blue form
• 
  mating, with young adult female blue form

• Female forms
• 
  immature female, blue form
• 
  young adult female blue form
• 
  adult female, dark form

The variable damselfly occurs throughout Europe. Scattered and uncommon in mainland Britain but widespread and common in Ireland.²