Neha Patil (Editor)

Small red damselfly

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Kingdom
  
Order
  
Family
  
Scientific name
  
Ceriagrion tenellum

Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Suborder
  
Zygoptera

Genus
  
Ceriagrion

Higher classification
  
Ceriagrion

Small red damselfly wwwdorsetdragonfliesorgukresourcesSmallRedD

Similar
  
Ceriagrion, Odonate, Damselfly, Large red damselfly, Scarce blue‑tailed damselfly

Small red damselfly introduction


The small red damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) is a small damselfly flying in heathland bogs and streams. It is in the family Coenagrionidae.

Contents

Small red damselfly Small Red Damselfly Chris Brooks Photography

Small red damselfly ceriagrion tenellum


Identification

Small red damselfly Small Red Damselfly Chris Brooks Photography

Ceriagrion tenellum is only 25–35 millimetres (0.98–1.38 in) long. It is a lot shorter than the large red damselfly, with which it is sometimes confused. In both sexes the thorax is bronze-black on top.

The male has an entirely red abdomen.

Small red damselfly Small Red Damselfly britishdragonfliesorguk

The female has a bronze-black abdomen with only the front and back of it red. The dark form melanogastrum has an almost entirely dark abdomen marked with pale segment divisors, the last two of which are reddish. A very rare form, erythrogastrum, resembles the male.

Behaviour

Small red damselfly Small Red Damselfly Chris Brooks Photography

Adults fly low and weakly, rarely going far from breeding waters. Like the southern damselfly, which this species sometimes accompanies, they rarely fly in any but the warmest and calmest weather conditions. They can, however, be surprisingly inconspicuous, even the males.

The males are aggressive towards each other but are not territorial. Oviposition takes place in tandem.

Eggs and larvae

Small red damselfly Small Red Damselfly britishdragonfliesorguk

It lays elongated eggs in submerged and emergent plants which subsequently hatch after about a month. The larvae are very small, about 16–17 millimetres (0.63–0.67 in), and are found in acidic bogs, streams and ponds. They live among debris in bogs and develop after two years.

References

Small red damselfly Wikipedia


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