# Banded Demoiselle

*Calopteryx splendens*

Males use their dark wing patches like flags to signal territory and perform a fluttering courtship dance for females.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Odonata › Calopterygidae › Calopteryx
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Slow-flowing rivers, canals, and streams with abundant bankside vegetation and muddy bottoms.
- **Diet:** Carnivorous; adults hunt small flying insects like midges, while larvae (nymphs) eat aquatic invertebrates.
- **Range:** Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
- **Size:** Wingspan of 60-70mm; body length of 45-50mm.
- **Lifespan:** 1-2 years (mostly as larvae); adults live only 2-4 weeks.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Water pollution, dredging, and the removal of riverside reeds and grasses.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless to humans. These delicate insects are best observed from the bank of a river. Avoid trying to catch them, as their wings are easily damaged. If one lands on you, remain still and enjoy the moment until it flies off.

## About

The banded demoiselle ( Calopteryx splendens ) is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along slow-flowing streams and rivers. It is a Eurasian species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to Lake Baikal and northwestern China.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/7a1ce4e5-8476-47e9-953b-99dc3fde3a3b
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51824
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calopteryx splendens
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/15603/medium.jpg (Lip Kee Yap, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.