The ruddy damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) is one of the two red-colored damselflies in the goblin family that live in Slovenia. It typically measures 33 to 36 mm in length, and its wingspan is about 4.5 cm.
Males have a blood-red abdomen, which at the tip is only stained with black. The dorsal side of the thorax is copper-black with two distinctive red stripes. The abdomen, however, is yellowish on the underside and on the sides, adorned with a black and red stripe. For the males of this species, the legs are also entirely dark, almost black.
Females are mostly very similar to males, except that they have somewhat larger black markings at the end of the abdomen, which in some color forms along the dorsal side of the abdomen can extend all the way to the thorax.
The ruddy damselfly lives in a very diverse range of aquatic habitats. We find it in pools and wetlands by forest streams, even in karst springs covered with moss and running waters... but it prefers somewhat overgrown canals and drainage ditches, where it occurs together with other species. In bodies of water with dense stands of reed (Phragmites australis) or bulrush (Typha sp.), we will typically not encounter it.
Adults of the ruddy damselfly are among the first damselflies to appear here, as they begin to fly already toward the end of April, and they can persist until August. Early flights are typical for warm lowland areas, while in the cooler parts of Slovenia they may first appear only in June.
