Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens

The word "demoiselle" means "young lady" in French, and this damselfly truly lives up to the elegant name. This jewel of freshwater habitats is found along slow-flowing European streams and rivers from the Atlantic coast eastward all the way to Lake Baikal and northwestern China—an enormous Eurasian range. The males are particularly striking, sporting dark bands on their wings, while females present subtle beauty with bronze-green coloring. Together they represent some of the most elegant damselflies in the Northern Hemisphere.