The Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) is another common species in Argyll that can often be found co-habiting with Common Blue damselflies, although I. elegans is more tolerant of habitats that have become polluted.

 

Don't be fooled by this damselfly's weak, fluttering flight for it is, nonetheless, a superb flier. Blue-tailed damselflies have an almost wholly black body, except for the thin, pale bands that separate each abdominal segment. This is an insect that carries a torch of electric-blue light near the 'tail' of its abdomen, something that contrasts markedly with the dark colour of its body. This colour appears battery-driven and is the first thing that you will notice when you encounter these damselflies!

 

These insects often reward patient observation, allowing you to get very close views and photographs, from which you will see the two-toned diamond-shaped pterostigma or wing spots on their front wings. This is not something that you will see if you are content just to watch them fly. When first seen, this feature will prove to be just as striking as the blue 'neon torch' that these insects carry on their abdomen!

 

Female Blue-tailed damselflies are extremely interesting, not to mention confusing, as they are known to occur in seven different colour forms, five of which are usually described in dragonfly literature. It is not for this website to try to unravel the possibilities of these colour varieties, so it is best that you find yourself a good field guide and be confused by it! WILDGuides Britain's Dragonflies by Dave Smallshire and Andy Swash is an excellent publication that will do as good a job as any in assisting you through the complexities of dragonfly identification, biology and ecology.

 

There is a quirkiness about this species approach to 'birthing' that merits mention. Dragon and damselflies lay eggs which, on hatching, the young (nymphs) will remain in their underwater home for between a few months (e.g. Emerald damselfly) and five years (e.g. Golden-ringed dragonfly).

 

The males of many species will remain 'in tandem' or in-attendance while the female oviposits. This offers her some protection from other unmated males that may be in the vicinity and 'ensures' the paternity of the offspring. The female Blue-tailed damselfly is often a 'single mother' that goes it alone when laying her eggs, running the risk that she may be forced into copulation again before she has completed laying. What's more, immature females may be coerced into mating before they have coloured-up and reached maturity!

 

That is not to say that the sexual process is taken lightly by Blue-tailed damselflies, as it is thought that this species holds the British record for time spent in a mating wheel – 6 hours. This is a remarkable feat only matched by the voyeurism shown by the observer(s) concerned!

 

The larvae probably remain as nymphs for two years in Scotland, with emergence taking place with two peaks during the period that adults are on the wing, the months of June until August being the best times to see these dynamic insects in Argyll. Unlike most other dragon and damselflies, Ischnura elegans has a preference for emerging into adulthood head down.