Common Bluetail

Habitat: Virtually all freshwater habitats: particularly in nutrient-rich waters.

Appearance: The Common Bluetail is found throughout almost all of Europe and is absent only from most of the Iberian Peninsula, the islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the northern part of Scandinavia. Very common in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Flight period: May to August.

Characteristics: Length 30–34 mm, wingspan 35–40 mm. The females exhibit a wide variety of colour forms. Some of these represent different stages in the colouration process. The light areas of fully coloured females may be tinged with blue or olive green.

Life cycle: The female lays her eggs in aquatic plants without the male’s assistance and may submerge completely whilst doing so. The larvae live in the aquatic vegetation or in the riparian zone. The life cycle usually takes a year, but in warm regions, 2–3 generations may follow one another in a single year.