Variable Bluet

Coenagrion pulchellum · Order: Odonata · Family: Coenagrionidae

Also called: Variable Blue Damselfly, Variable Coenagrion, Variable Damselfly

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Variable Bluet
Photo: odole, CC BY

Male variable damselflies have a wine-glass marking on the second abdominal segment to a black U-shape joined by a line to the terminal black band. The species occurs throughout Europe, being scattered and uncommon on mainland Britain but common in Ireland.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Males show a distinctive wine-glass marking on abdominal segment two: a black U-shape with a line linking it to the narrow terminal black band.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They usually stay close to vegetation, and immature individuals are often found in nearby meadows or uncut grassy areas.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Variable Bluet photo 3
Photo: odole, CC BY
Variable Bluet photo 4
Photo: unknown, CC0
Variable Bluet photo 5
Photo: unknown, CC0
Variable Bluet photo 6
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC BY

Same family (Coenagrionidae)

Eastern ForktailEastern ForktailIschnura verticalisBlue-tailed DamselflyBlue-tailed DamselflyIschnura elegansFragile ForktailFragile ForktailIschnura positaAzure DamselflyAzure DamselflyCoenagrion puellaFamiliar BluetFamiliar BluetEnallagma civileCommon Blue DamselflyCommon Blue DamselflyEnallagma cyathigerum

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_damselfly

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.