Sahara Bluetail (Ischnura saharensis)
• English name: Sahara Bluetail
• German name: Sahara-Pechlibelle
• French name: N/A
• Dutch name: Saharalantaarntje
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: N/A
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: N/A
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Sahara Bluetail
(Ischnura saharensis)
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | ➤ a small species, very similar to I. elegans, which in Europe occurs only on the Canary Islands | |
| Classification | • suborder: Zygoptera (damselflies); family: Coenagrionidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Ischnura saharensis Aguesse, 1958 | |
| Name genus | • Ischnura: from Grk. ἰσχνός = thin, slender +; οὐρά = tail ⇒ for the slender abdomen (compared to e.g. Calopteryx species) | |
| Name species | • saharensis: after the Sahara desert | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • any still or slow-flowing water with a rich vegetation | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 26-31 mm; hindwing: 12-17 mm | |
| Notes | • belongs to the elegans group, together with I. elegans, I. genei and I. graellsii | |
| • not known to co-occur in Europe with I. elegans, I. genei or I. graellsii, but may co-occur with I. senegalensis on the Canary Islands | ||
| • violacea and rufescens are immature female colour forms, which with age develop into one of the three mature forms: violacea (with its antehumeral stripe) into either typica or infuscans; rufescens (without an antehumeral stripe) into infuscans-obsoleta; see below for details | ||
| Both sexes | Wings | • the pterostigma in the forewing is the same size as that in the hindwing |
| Male | Thorax | • the lower side of the thorax and the antehumeral stripe (which may be narrow or even absent) are green |
| ➤ the pronotum does not bear a dark upright projection | ||
| • compared to I. senegalensis the black line on the interpleural suture tends to be much thicker, longer and more clearly visible | ||
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is black on top, but S8 is sky blue | |
| ➤ the black upper part of S2 is separated from the green lower part in a straight line | ||
| • compared to I. senegalensis the tubercle on S10 is much larger and more clearly visible | ||
| Wings | • the pterostigma in the forewing is bicoloured: black on the inside, white on the outside; the pterostigma in the hindwing is uniformly beige/brown | |
| Female | Thorax | • the side of the thorax is either green (in the form typica), pale lilac (in the form violacea), orange/pink (in the form rufescens), or green-orange-brown (in the forms infuscans and infuscans-obsoleta) |
| • the antehumeral stripe is of the same colour as the side of the thorax (see above) but is absent in the forms rufescens and infuscans-obsoleta | ||
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is black on top, but S8 is sky blue in the forms typica, violacea and rufescens or brown in the forms infuscans and infuscans-obsoleta; this tail-light is usually uninterrupted | |
| • the abdomen has a vulvar spine underneath S8 | ||
| Wings | • the pterostigma is uniformly beige/brown in both wings | |
| Photographs | • nearly all of our photos below were made on the Canary Islands in May-June 2014 |
