About Chalcolestes parvidens (Artobolevskii, 1929)
Identification: In the field, it is not possible to reliably distinguish Chalcolestes parvidens from C. viridis. Both species are mainly metallic green, similar to Lestes damselflies, but larger and darker. They lack the powder blue pruinescence that is common in Lestes damselflies. Their pterostigma is pale brown with a black outline. The thorax has thin yellow antehumeral areas and a broader yellow stripe above a thin black line on each side; the upper edge of this stripe is irregular. Both C. viridis and C. parvidens have a prominent spur-like marking on the side of the thorax. Distribution and habitat: Chalcolestes parvidens occurs in eastern and central Europe, including Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Turkey. It can also be found on eastern Mediterranean islands: Cyprus, Corsica, Crete and Sicily. Both C. parvidens and C. viridis co-occur in Italy and the Balkans. Odonaterists have only separated C. parvidens from C. viridis in the last 20 years, so some older records for C. viridis are likely actually C. parvidens.
