Ischnura genei
| Ischnura genei | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
| |
| Male | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborder: | Zygoptera |
| Family: | Coenagrionidae |
| Genus: | Ischnura |
| Species: | I. genei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ischnura genei (Rambur, 1842)
| |
Ischnura genei, the island bluetail damselfly, is a species of damselfly that replaces the blue-tailed damselfly on some Mediterranean islands (e.g., Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily where the two species are not known to coexist). It is a small and slender damselfly that tends to be smaller and daintier than the common bluetail. Its main distinguishing features include a black abdomen, which in males carries a striking blue tail-light on S8. Some female colour forms, too, have a blue tail-light on S8, but it tends to be interrupted by a black mark on either end. In some other female colour forms S8 is rusty brown. The male's pterostigma is bi-coloured (as it is in Ischnura elegans). In Malta, this species is still frequent and breeds, but it is endangered by habitat loss.
References
- Sciberras, A.; Sciberras, J. and Magro D. (2007) "A Celebration of Dragonflies". The Malta Independent. November 19, pp. 8–9.