It has a body length of 29 to 36 mm with a wingspan of 30 to 43 mm.
The sides of the thorax are only faintly marked and have no seam like the azure damselflies. The antehumeral stripe on the thorax is broad.
The male has a hard blue thorax and a blue abdomen with black markings. There is a black marking on the abdominal segment S2, reminiscent of a cup. The abdominal segments S8 and S0 are blue, segment S7 has a broad blue ring at the border to S6.
The ground colour of the female can be greenish or brownish, sometimes also blue. Mixed colours also occur. There are torpedo-shaped markings on the upper side of the abdomen.
It colonises medium and large standing waters with open water surfaces as well as areas of rivers, canals and the like with little current.
Literature:
- K.-D. Dijkstra, Libellen Europas, 2. Auflage, Haupt Verlag Bern 2021, ISBN 3-258-08219-6, S. 117 f
- K. Sternberg / R. Buchwald, Libellen Baden-Württembergs, Bd. 1, Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3508-6, S. 300–311
- H. Wildermuth, A. Martens, Die Libellen Europas, Quelle & Meyer Wiebelsheim 2018, 3-494-01690-9, S. 228 ff
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