Blue Featherleg
Platycnemis pennipes
Males have expanded, feather-like white legs which they wave like flags in elaborate aerial dances to attract females and warn off rival males.
- Scientific name
- Platycnemis pennipes
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Odonata › Platycnemididae › Platycnemis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Slow-flowing streams, rivers, canals, and occasionally ponds with abundant bankside vegetation.
- Diet
- Carnivorous, preying on small flying insects such as midges, mosquitoes, and aphids.
- Range
- Europe, Western Asia, Siberia
- Size
- Wingspan of 35-45 mm, body length of 35-37 mm
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 years (mostly spent as aquatic nymphs; adults live only 1 to 2 months)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Water pollution, destruction of riparian vegetation, and river canalization.
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless. You can safely observe this damselfly from a few inches away as it rests on riverside reeds. Avoid touching or catching it, as its delicate wings and feathered legs are easily damaged.
The white-legged damselfly or blue featherleg ( Platycnemis pennipes ) is a damselfly of slow-flowing, muddy waters. It occurs from the Atlantic to Siberia and is often abundant throughout its range.
Photo: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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