It has a body length of 30 to 39 mm with a wingspan of 40 to 50 mm.
The thorax and abdomen are metallic green and turn copper-coloured with age. Its pterostigmata are light brown with white lateral margins. The back of the head has a yellow, sharply defined colouration.
In males, only segments S9 and S10 of the abdomen are coloured blue.
The female lacks the blue stripes. Their ovopositor is light in colour and only extends to the end of segment S10.
The Small emerald damselfly likes to sit in rushes or in heather bushes, from where it lies in wait for prey.
It colonises shallow, standing waters that are well sunlit and have loose to moderate emersed vegetation consisting of rushes, marsh rushes, sedges or horsetails. Peaty waters that slowly silt up and are overgrown with thin-stemmed plants are particularly favourable for them.
Literature:
- K.-D. Dijkstra, Libellen Europas, 2. Auflage, Haupt Verlag Bern 2021,ISBN 3-258-08219-6, S. 75 f
- K. Sternberg / R. Buchwald, Libellen Baden-Württembergs, Bd. 2, Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3514-0, S. 418–429
- H. Wildermuth, A. Martens, Die Libellen Europas, Quelle & Meyer Wiebelsheim 2018, 3-494-01690-9, S. 81 ff
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