Spotted damselfly (Somatochlora flavomaculata) is between 45 and 54 mm long, and the wingspan measures between 32 and 39 mm. Both sexes are similar in color and pattern, with the male's abdomen narrower and sword-shaped, and the female's abdomen wider and without a narrowing behind the thorax. The base color of the spotted damselfly's body is brown-green with a pronounced metallic sheen. Of similar, metallic-green dragonflies, we can easily distinguish the spotted damselfly by the dark yellow spots on both sides of the abdomen. It also has two long yellow marks on the sides of the thorax. In young adult individuals, the yellow spots on the thorax and abdomen are lighter and thus more noticeable; with age they darken and may be barely visible in older individuals. On the sides of the 2nd and 3rd abdominal segments the yellow spots are large and irregular in shape, from the 4th to the 8th segments the yellow spots on the sides are triangular. The yellow spots are larger in females. The spotted damselfly has a large, dark pterostigma.
Unlike other damselflies, the spotted damselfly inhabits lowland regions and sheltered valleys. It lives in wetlands, on moist meadows, at the edges of bogs, and in reed beds, on the shores of lakes and slow-moving rivers overgrown with dense vegetation. Adults appear from the end of May to the middle of August, with the peak in June and July.
Males often defend their territory far away from the water body in which they lived as larvae. With intermittent hovering in place, we will see them flying over tracks, along the forest edge; especially at the end of the mating season, they also fly over small bodies of water.
The spotted damselfly is generally a rare species, and its habitat is further diminishing. It is also endangered in Slovenia and, as a vulnerable species (V), is listed on the Red List.
