Een vondst van een populatie Donkere waterjuffers (Coenagrion armatum) in De Weerribben

Van der Heijden, A.E., 2000. A population of Norfolk Damselflies (Coenagrion armatum) in The Weerribben. Brachytron 4(2): 16-19. A small population of Norfolk Damselflies (Coenagrion armatum) was found in the lowland mire The Weerribben in May 1999. Coenagrion armatum has always been extremely rare in the Netherlands. Before 1999, Coenagrion armatum was only observed for certain on four different occasions in the Netherlands. Because it had not been recorded since 1956 the Norfolk Damselfly was considered extinct in the Netherlands. During the survey in 1999 a total of 25 males and 11 females could be traced. During a second visit in May 2000 two males were found on the same location. As only little is known about the species habitat requirements in the Netherlands, the habitat characteristics described from abroad are discussed. The recently discovered Weerribben-population of Coenagrion armatum inhabits a wide, densely vegetated reed and Typha belt, which is permanently flooded with clean, shallow water. This seems to match with biotopes as described for other European locations. It is suggested that the structure of the vegetation belt is more important for Coenagrion armatum than the actual presence of certain plant species.