Its body is sky blue in colour and there are black markings on the segments of its abdomen. Its eyes are wide apart and like all damselflies it holds its wings over its abdomen when resting.
This is different to dragonflies who hold their wings out to the side.
The southern blue damselfly lives in very boggy environments such as pools, heathland mires and streams in valley bottoms.
The larvae live for around two years before transforming into adults. When they emerge from larval stage to adult they crawl onto stiff vegetation (such as rushes) at the water's edge. This means that they are less likely to be damaged by strong winds during their transformation.
Carnivore - The larvae are voracious predators with a ‘sit and wait’ tactic. They catch any invertebrate that passes by and particularly like shrimps and midge larvae. The adults eat small insects in flight.
The southern blue damselfly is a rare species in the UK and is only found in the south-west of England and in Wales. It is protected by law. Research shows it needs clean, warm, un-shaded streams which do not dry out. Its survival can therefore be threatened by pollution, low water flows and unsuitable habitat management.