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Description: Brilliant metallic blue body. Wings are less abruptly narrowed than those of other damselflies and also differ from them in being coloured. Females (pictured below left) have greenish-yellow tinged wings, but the male (pictured above left) has an obvious dark blueish-black area of colouration on both fore and hind wings. Males are usually territorial, but large numbers can sometimes be found in lush bankside plants and on floating objects. They court females by opening their wings and performing an aerial dance. They are usually found among mature, slow-flowing streams and rivers and sometimes canals. Females can lay up to 10 eggs per minute for 45 minutes. They lay in a wide variety of emergent or floating plants, sometimes even submerging to do so. The eggs hatch after 14 days, the emerging larvae having very long legs and appearing very stick-shaped. They tolerate muddy water and overwinter buried in mud. When they are ready to moult into an adult, they climb up a suitable reed or plant and shed their skin.
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