Blue damselfly (Austrolestes)

Taxonomic group

Lestidae: Austrolestes

Diagnostic features

Austrolestes damselfly larvae have long slender legs, a slender abdomen, and the tail gills have rounded tips with no long hairs. The adults are the distinctive blue damselflies often seen flying close to watercourses.

[Austrolestes]. Image: Stephen Moore Image — Austrolestes. Image: Stephen Moore

[Austrolestes] tail gills with rounded tips. Image: Stephen Moore Image — Austrolestes tail gills with rounded tips. Image: Stephen Moore

Typical habitats

Austrolestes larvae are common in weedy streams, ponds and lakes throughout New Zealand.

Feeding

They are predators, feeding on other freshwater invertebrates.

Indicator value

Hard bottom: 6
Soft bottom: 0.7

The tolerance values (ranging from 0 to 10) give an indication of which are the sensitive taxa (values of 8 or more) and which are the tolerant taxa (values of 3 or less). For more information see: Indicator species

Austrolestes are not useful indicators of water quality as they are common in both polluted and unpolluted waters. They have tolerance values of 6 (hard bottom sites) and 0.7 (soft bottom sites).