Psolodesmus mandarinus

This broad winged damselfly has a glossy green head and thorax, and the wings carry black, white and brown bands whose pattern and width shift gradually between northern and southern populations of the same species. Females carry a proportionally larger abdomen than males.

Adults perch and fly low over shaded, fast running mountain streams, where the aquatic larvae develop among stones and submerged roots. The two recognised subspecies replace each other along a north to south gradient rather than overlapping widely.