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In Odonates, female colour polymorphism is common and implies the presence of two or more female types with different colours and behaviours. To explain this phenomenon, several hypotheses have been proposed that consider morph frequency, population density, the presence of parasites, and mating behaviour. We studied the blue-tailed damselfly  Ischnura elegans , a species with a blue androchrome morph and two gynochrome morphs (the common green  infuscans , and the rare orange  rufescens-obsoleta ). The size of adult males and females, the presence of parasites, and pairing behaviour between males and the three female morphs was assessed in field conditions throughout the reproductive season in NW Italy. Moreover, growth and emergence success of larvae produced by the different morphs was analyzed in standardized conditions. In the field, males showed a preference for the gynochrome  infuscans  females, despite a similar frequency of androchrome females. In test conditions, male preference for the  infuscans  females was also observed. Paired males and paired androchrome females were larger than unpaired individuals, while there were no differences in size between paired and unpaired  infuscans  females. Males and androchrome females were more parasitized than  infuscans  females. The survival and emergence success of larvae produced by androchrome females was higher than those of offspring produced by the  infuscans  females. Our results suggest that a higher survival of progeny at the larval stage could counterbalance the higher parasitism and the lower pairing success of andromorph adult females and highlight the importance of considering the whole life-cycle in polymorphism studies.

Different stress from parasites and mate choice in two female morphs of the blue-tailed damselfly