Body length is usually about 33–36 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Pyrrhosoma nymphula
An early red damselfly capable of laying more than a thousand eggs across a female’s brief adult life.
About this species
Large Red Damselfly
Pyrrhosoma nymphula(Sulzer, 1776)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Pyrrhosoma nymphula is often one of the first damselflies to appear in spring. Adults breed at ponds, canals, ditches and slow streams, where pairs usually remain in tandem while the female inserts eggs into aquatic plants.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Odonata · Coenagrionidae · Pyrrhosoma
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe, North Africa and western AsiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Europe, North Africa and western Asia
Ponds, canals, marshes, ditches and slow-flowing waters with emergent vegetation.
One of the earliest European damselflies, flying from spring into summer.
Adults catch small flying insects; aquatic larvae prey on small aquatic animals.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Field measurements found a female laid about 245 eggs in a single clutch, completing the operation in roughly twenty-three minutes.
Estimated lifetime output approached six clutches and around 1,447 eggs per female — extraordinary production for such a delicate adult.
The male usually remains attached in tandem while eggs are inserted into submerged plant tissue, guarding both the female and his paternity.