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Key to the Swedish Damelflies
This is a translation of Tobias Ivarsson's amasing "Trollsländor i Ulricehamnsbygden". It's a great honor for me to have the possibillity to show this key here at "Swedish dragonflies".
This key covers all the common damselflies in Sweden except for Calopteryx splendens and Calopteryx virgo. I have some ideas about expanding this key to cover all Swedish damselflies, but I don't know when I will get the time to do this.
1. | Male (with accessory copulatory organs) | | 2 |
| Female (with egg-laying apparatus) | | 13 |
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2. | The damselfly looks metallic green | | Lestes 3 |
| The colors are matt (red, blue, white, green, black, brown) or dark bronze | | 4 |
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3. | The upper anal appendages points straight backwards (fig 1) | | Lestes sponsa |
| The upper anal appendages are curved towards eachother (fig 2) | | Lestes dryas |
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fig.1. Lestes sponsa, male, anal appendages
fig.2. Lestes dryas, male, anal appendages
fig.3. Platycnemis pennipes, tibia
4. | The tibias are broad and flat, the color of the damselfly is white-pale blue | | Platycnemis pennipes |
| The tibias are not broad and flat, color of the damselfly is blue, green, black, red or brownish white | | 5 |
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5. | The head is dark on the upper part, at least the eyes are red (at the mature ones) | | 6 |
| The head have light parts on the upper side, no red color at all | | 7 |
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6. | The abdomen is red with black marks | | Pyrrhosoma nymphula |
| The abdomen is colored black or dark bronze and blue | | Erytromma najas |
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7. | The upper side of the second segment of the abdomen totally black | | Ischnura elegans |
| The upper side of the second segment of the abdomen blue, green or brown with black marks | | 8 |
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8. | Very broad shoulder line, the mark at the second abdomen segment looks like a mushrom (fig 4) the damselfly differs from deep blue to tan | | Enallagma cyahigerum |
| The shoulder line is thin, the damselfly is colored blue, green or brown | | Coenagrion 9 |
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9. | The lower anal appendages are very large (fig 5), the damselfly mostly colored green | | Coengrion armatum |
| The lower anal appendages are small, the damselfly mostly colored blue | | 10 |
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10. | The mark at the third abdomen segment are tapering or blunted (fig 6 and 7) | | 11 |
| The mark at the third abdomen segment are U-shaped (fig 8 and 9) | | 12 |
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11. | The mark at the third abdomen segment are tapering(fig 6), chech even the mark at the second segment | | Coenagrion hastulatum |
| The mark at the third abdomen segment are blunted (fig 7), chech even the mark at the second segment | | Coenagrion lunulatum |
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12. | The tubercle at prothorax is distingtive(fig 10), even check the mark at the second abdomen segment(fig 8) | | Coenagrion pulchellum |
| The tubercle at prothorax is indistingtive(fig 11), even check the mark at the second abdomen segment(fig 9) | | Coenagrion puella |
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fig.4. Enallagma cyanthigerum, male, second segment of abdomen
fig.5. Coenagrion armatum, male, anal appendages
fig.6. Coengarion hastulatum, male, second and third segment of abdomen
fig.7. Coenagrion lunulatum, male, second and third segment of abdomen
fig.8. Coenagrion pulchellum, male, second and third segment of abdomen
fig.9. Coenagrion puella, male, second and third segment of abdomen
fig.10 Coenagrion pulchellum, male, prothorax (sideview)
fig.11 Coenagrion puella, male, prothorax (sideview)
13. | The damselfly looks metallic green | | Lestes 14 |
| The colors are matt (red, blue, white, green, black | | 15 |
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14. | The prothorax with only a dark spot at the back (fig 12) | | Lestes sponsa |
| The prothorax with dark spot at the back and a dark stripe at the side (fig 13) | | Lestes dryas |
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15. | The tibias are broad and flat, the color of the damselfly is geenish yellow, white or rust | | Platycnemis pennipes |
| The tibias are not broad and flat, color of the damselfly is not white | | 16 |
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16. | The head is dark on the upper part, at least the eyes are redish (at the mature ones) | | 17 |
| The head have light parts on the upper side, no red color at all | | 18 |
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17. | The abdomen is red with black marks | | Pyrrhosoma nymphula |
| The abdomen is colored black and yellowish | | Erytromma najas |
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18. | The eight segment of the lower part of the abdomen is pricle-like and points backwards | | 19 |
| The eight segment of the lower part of the abdomen is not pricle-like | | 20 |
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19. | There's no shoulder line or a very thin one, the spots at back the head are circular | | Ischnura elegans |
| The shoulder line are very broad, the spots at the back of the head are triangular | | Enallagma cyahtigerum |
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fig.12. Lestes sponsa, female, prothorax (sideview)
fig.13. Lestes dryas, female, prothorax (sideview)
fig.14. Enallagma cyathigerum, female, segment 7-10 of abdomen
fig.15. Ischnura elegans, female, segment 7-10 of abdomen
20. | The marks at the second segment of abdomen looks like (fig 16) | | Coenagrion armatum |
| The marks at the second segment of the abdomen mostly reaches the edge of the fist segment | | 21 |
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21. | The upper part of prothorax back edge is straight (fig 17) | | Coengarion hastulatum |
| The upper part of prothorax back edge is not straight | | 22 |
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22. | The tubercle at prothorax is indistingtive(fig 18) | | Coenagrion puella |
| The tubercle at prothorax is large and distingtive(fig 19 and 20) | | 23 |
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23. | The most upper tubercle at prothorax with a "corner" (fig 19), the whole upper part of the abdomen is dark, exept for the eight segment | | Coenagrion lunulatum |
| The most upper tubercle at prothorax without a "corner" (fig 20), the upper part of the abdomen mostly with blue marks | | Coenagrion pulchellum |
fig. 16. Coenagrion armatum, female, second segment of abdomen
fig. 17. Coenagrion hastulatum, female, prothorax (top view)
fig. 18. Coenagrion puella, female, prothorax (side view)
fig. 19. Coenagrion lunulatum, female, prothorax (side view)
fig. 20. Coenagrion pulchellum, female, prothorax (side view)
© 1997 by Tobias Ivarsson and Martin Peterson.
Last updated April 15 1997 by Martin Peterson (e2mape1@etek.chalmers.se)
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