Beautiful Damselfly
EN

Beautiful Damselfly

Calopteryx virgo

UnknownLCEULCEU

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_demoiselle

Overview

The beautiful demoiselle is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. The species has been found in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and are often found nearby fast-flowing waters.

The Beautiful Damselfly faces severe population declines primarily due to water pollution and habitat degradation of the clean, fast-flowing streams it requires for reproduction. Agricultural runoff, urban development, and river modification have significantly reduced the quality and availability of suitable breeding habitats across its range.

Threat summary

Habitat

Beautiful demoiselle is distributed across all of Europe with the exception of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily, and Iceland. The beautiful demoiselle is mostly found in lowland locations. Regular findings come from areas up to a maximum height of 980 m above sea level; occasionally, they may be found up to 1,200 metres in altitude, such as in...

Threatened in Albania

Calidris ferrugineaVU

Calidris ferruginea

Declining
Anthophore estivaleCR

Anthophore estivale

Anthophora aestivalis

Unknown
Adonis BlueVU

Adonis Blue

Lysandra bellargus

Unknown
VU

Anthribus fasciatus

Unknown

Frequently asked questions

Why is Beautiful Damselfly classified as Endangered?
Beautiful Damselfly is classified as Endangered — facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild — because population numbers are declining steeply and key habitats are under sustained pressure. The Beautiful Damselfly faces severe population declines primarily due to water pollution and habitat degradation of the clean, fast-flowing streams it requires for reproduction. Agricultural runoff, urban development, and river modification have significantly reduced the quality and availability of suitable breeding habitats across its range.
Where does Beautiful Damselfly live?
Beautiful Damselfly occurs in Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Belgium (plus 42 other countries). Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to Beautiful Damselfly?
The main threats to Beautiful Damselfly are ai-1, ai-2, ai-3, and ai-4. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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