Beautiful Demoiselle - Calopteryx virgo
Nymphs have a distinctive "rhino horn" behind the eye not found in Banded Demoiselle nymphs.
Banded Demoiselle
The Beautiful Demoiselle favours fast flowing streams with clean stony or sandy beds.
Rare vagrant in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Although cited historically by various authorities as being "common on the Southern boundary (of Leicestershire) and in Rutland" (Roebuck, 1932), "locally common (in Leicestershire)" (Longfield, 1937) and present in Leicestershire in 1960 (Corbet et al, 1960), there were no recent records of this species in VC55. There were just four records on the Leicestershire and Rutland Dragonfly Group (LRDG) database, the most last in 1973.
It now appears to be spreading into the southern part of VC55.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
Enter a town or village to see local records
MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020
UK Map
Species profile
- Common names
- Demoiselle Agrion, Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly, Beautiful Demoiselle, Beautiful Agrion
- Species group:
- Dragonflies and Damselflies
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Odonata
- Family:
- Calopterygidae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 36
- First record:
- 01/07/1998 (John Mousley)
- Last record:
- 15/06/2025 (Baker, Adrian)
Total records by month
% of records within its species group
10km squares with records
The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.
In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.