Azure damselfy (Coenagrion puella)

Azure damselfy (Coenagrion puella)

Description

Title:
Azure damselfy (Coenagrion puella)
Caption / Description:

The Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) is a species of damselfly found in most of Europe. It is remarkable for its distinctive black and blue colouring.
Adult male Azure damselflies have a head and thorax patterned with blue and black. They have an azure blue abdomen patterned with black markings. The marking on segment two is U-shaped, usually separated from the segment's narrow terminal black band, but sometimes joined to it by a short central bar.

Segments three to five are blue with broader black terminal bands, lacking the forward-pointing projection the upper surface which adult male Common Blue Damselfly has. Segment six has a similar pattern but with more restricted blue and a broader area of black, and segment seven is mostly black, with just a narrow blue area at the base. Segment eight and much of segment nine are sky-blue, forming a noticeable contrasting patch, but there are small dark markings on the rear upperside of segment nine, which adult male Common Blue Damselfly doesn't possess.

Adult female Azure Damselflies have a head and thorax pattern similar to that of the male, but with dull green replacing the blue colour. The abdominal segments are largely black in colour, with narrow pale markings at the junction between each segment.

Mature adults are seen frequently mating and laying eggs. It usually stays close to the vegetation around the pond or lake and flies from May to September.

This common Damselfly looks very like a Common Blue Damselfly, but a close look can distinguish the two. The behaviour is also different - unlike Common Blues, they rarely fly out over large stretches of water. They are not normally as common around August and September, June and July being the peak of their populations.

Description taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_damselfly

Tags / Keywords:
  • Biota
  • Life
  • Vitae
  • Eukaryota
  • Animalia
  • Animals
  • Arthropoda
  • Arthropods
  • Insecta
  • Insects
  • Odonata
  • Dragonflies and Damselflies
  • Coenagrionidae
  • Narrow-winged damselflies
  • Coenagrion
  • Northern Bluets
  • Eurasian Bluets
  • Coenagrion puella
  • Azure damselfy

Admin

Date Original Photo Taken:
Original File Name:
_MG_2664 and _MG_2668.psd
Event:
Rating:
Date this image added/last updated on website:
Original File Dimensions:
4152px x 2847px
File Type:
JPEG
Color Mode:
RGB
Original Image Color Profile:
Adobe RGB (1998)

Location

Location Created:
Sublocation:
City:
Market Harborough
Province/State:
Leicestershire
Country:
United Kingdom
World Region:
Europe
Geo-location:

Rights

Copyright Status:
Copyrighted
Licensing Status:
Rights Managed
Available for Editorial Use:
Yes
Available for Commercial Use:
Yes
Copyright Notice:
© 2010 Dave Kennard

Camera Data

Date Digital Resource was created:
Shutter speed:
1200 s
Aperture:
f/8
Camera Model:
Canon EOS 450D
ISO:
100
Exposure Compensation:
0
Focal Length:
65mm
Focal Length (35mm equiv.):
Metering Mode:
Multi-segment
Flash:
On, Fired
Exposure Mode:
Manual
White Balance:
Manual
Light Source:
Exposure Program:
Manual

Additional shooting metadata

Lens:
Canon MP-E 65mm F2.8 1-5x Macro
Filters used:
Additional Optics used:
Setup:
Handheld, 2 shots
Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Flash with home-made concave diffusers

Post Processing

Image Modified:
Software used:
  • Adobe Camera RAW
  • Adobe Photoshop CS5
Post Processing:

CR2s converted in ACR
Images blended for focus in PS CS5
Bit of finger removed from bottom left corner in PS CS5
Curves adjustment to increase contrast in PS CS5