Scarce blue-tailed damselfly

The scarce blue-tailed damselfly or small bluetail (Ischnura pumilio) is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae.

Mature female

Scarce blue-tailed damselfly
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Suborder:	Zygoptera
Family:	Coenagrionidae
Genus:	Ischnura
Species:	I. pumilio
Binomial name
Ischnura pumilio (Charpentier, 1825)

The species occurs throughout Europe except in the north. To the east it occurs from Asia Minor to Siberia, to the south the range extends to Morocco, the Azores and Madeira. The typical male has a black abdomen with a bright blue spot on tail (segments 8 and 9).^[1] It is very similar to the blue-tailed damselfly, Ischnura elegans but on that species the blue spot is mostly on segment 8.^[2] Females undergo a change of colour as they mature. The immature female is bright orange, the aurantiaca phase, but matures to a greenish-brown.