Coenagrion ornatum
species of insect
Coenagrion ornatum, or, the ornate bluet, is a species of damselfly from the family Coenagrionidae distributed across a large part of Europe and Western Asia.
Description
Adults reach 30 to 31 mm, of which 20–30 mm abdomen, while wingspan is 17–24 mm. The base coloration is blue with black markings, similar to other coenagrionids. Male can be distinguished by a marking on the top of the second segment of the abdomen (S2) which resembles a stalked wine glass or a trident, but is not always developed. Other segments up to S7 sport pointed markings resembling spears, while the eighth segment is entirely blue with at best two tiny black spots. Females have darker abdomens, but with always some blue on the proximal half of each segment; this characteristic resembles brighter azure damselfly females, which can be distinguished by three forward-pointing black spires (ornate bluet females only have the central one). Males in turn closely resemble the southern damselfly males, from which they can be distinguished by serrated hind edges of eye-sports on the top of the head and details in abdomen markings.
The period of activity is short: adults fly in the summer, from May to July or mid-August.
Habitat and distribution
The species breeds in shallow, unshaded, slowly-flowing streams with moderate growth. It is absent from water bodies with densely overgrown banks.
The public source identifies “Coenagrion ornatum” as species of insect. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Coenagrion, ornatum and species.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 12, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q846711. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Coenagrion ornatum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.