Here’s a full and detailed overview of the Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo), one of Europe’s most striking damselflies.

🪰 **Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)**

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Family: Calopterygidae
Genus: Calopteryx
Species: C. virgo

Common name: Beautiful Demoiselle
Scientific name: Calopteryx virgo

Identification

The Beautiful Demoiselle is a large, elegant damselfly recognized for its metallic sheen and graceful flight over streams and rivers. It is one of the most visually stunning insects in Europe.

Length: 45–49 mm
Wingspan: 60–70 mm
Male: Metallic blue-green body with dark blue, opaque wings
Female: Metallic green-bronze body with smoky greenish-brown translucent wings and a distinctive white pseudopterostigma (false wing spot)
Eyes: Large and brownish-red
Legs: Long, black, and spindly

The species can be distinguished from the Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens), which has a distinct dark band on the male’s wings rather than full coloration.

Distribution and Range

The Beautiful Demoiselle is widespread across:

Europe – from the British Isles and Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and the Balkans
Asia Minor – extending east into parts of western Asia

It is absent from much of the Iberian Peninsula and some lowland regions of central Europe.

Habitat

This species prefers:

Clean, fast-flowing streams and rivers
Wooded or shaded waterways
Grassy banks and riparian vegetation

The larvae require well-oxygenated water and are found among submerged roots and leaf litter in running streams.

Behavior

Flight period: May to September (depending on climate)
Activity: Flies in sunshine, often perching on vegetation near water
Territorial males: Defend stretches of stream, performing aerial displays with fluttering wings
Courtship: Males display to females by fluttering their wings and curving their abdomen in a heart-shaped “dance” over the water
Resting: Often seen perched on overhanging plants or rocks

Diet

Both adults and larvae are carnivorous:

Adults: Feed on small flying insects such as midges, mosquitoes, and gnats caught in flight
Larvae (nymphs): Feed on aquatic invertebrates and small insect larvae

Life Cycle

Mating: Occurs over water; the male clasps the female by the neck with his abdominal claspers.
Oviposition: The female lays eggs underwater, inserting them into submerged plants.
Larval stage: Lasts 1–2 years, depending on temperature and water quality.
Emergence: Mature larvae crawl out of the water to metamorphose into adults.

Adults live only a few weeks, during which they reproduce.

Lifespan

Larval stage: 1–2 years
Adult stage: 2–4 weeks

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)
Population trend: Stable, but locally sensitive to water pollution and habitat degradation

Protection of clean, fast-flowing water systems is essential for this species’ survival.

Ecological Role

Indicator of clean, oxygen-rich water ecosystems
Controls populations of small aquatic and flying insects
Prey for birds, frogs, and dragonflies

Predators and Threats

Predators: Birds, amphibians, spiders, and larger dragonflies
Threats:
- Water pollution and sedimentation
- Riverbank modification and vegetation loss
- Climate change affecting stream flow

Key Identification Points

Feature	Description
Scientific name	Calopteryx virgo
Common name	Beautiful Demoiselle
Family	Calopterygidae
Length	45–49 mm
Wingspan	60–70 mm
Male wings	Dark blue and opaque
Female wings	Greenish-brown translucent
Habitat	Fast, clean rivers and streams
Flight period	May–September
Conservation status	Least Concern

Interesting Facts

The name Calopteryx means “beautiful wing” in Greek.
Males display a courtship dance by flicking their wings and curving their bodies to attract females.
They are among the few damselflies that can tolerate shaded woodland streams.
The coloration is structural, caused by microscopic scales reflecting light, not by pigment.

Summary

The Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is a striking damselfly that graces clean, fast-flowing European streams with its metallic blue and green shimmer. Males dazzle with their fully dark wings and courtship displays, while females exhibit subtler bronze hues. As an indicator of unpolluted water, this species plays an important ecological role and remains a symbol of pristine freshwater habitats.