Pond maidens
| Pond maidens | ||||||||||||
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Austrolestes cingulatus , an Australian representative of the pond damsel |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lestidae | ||||||||||||
| Calvert , 1901 |
The pond damsel or rush damsel (Lestidae) are a family of dragonflies (Zygoptera). They also belong to the dragonflies (Odonata). There are nine species of this family in Central Europe.
The body of the pond damsel is slim, the adults are colored brown ( winter dragonflies , genus Sympecma ) or metallic green ( rush damsels , genus Lestes ). Since the larvae develop in stagnant and mostly small bodies of water, these dragonflies are mainly found near ponds or smaller lakes. Several types of Lestes can appear together ( syntopy ). The gripping tongs at the rear end of the males of these species are designed differently and "fit" accordingly only with the correct females. This avoids the alien copulation , although the males certainly also fly to foreign females.
Reproduction
For reproduction, the males of the pond damsel form areas of a size of 0.5 to 1.5 meters around branches of bushes and trees near the banks. Territorial fights are fought between the males, which determine the ranking and thus the allocation of the territory. The rank of the animals increases from bottom to top. After these territories have been established, the females appear individually and fly along the bank vegetation at a height of 10 to 15 meters. Several males start from their territory at the same time and pursue the female until it can be captured and mated by one of the males.
After mating, the eggs are usually laid with the male, who continues to hold the female in a pincer grip (tandem flight). Eggs are usually laid in parts of plants above the water, whereby the maiden willow ( Chalcolestes viridis ) always pricks its eggs into woody branches above the water. Some species also lay the eggs in the substrate below the surface of the water.
The larvae live on the bottom of the water or on aquatic plants. After about two months, larval development is complete, by then the larvae have experienced between eight and eleven molts. The Lestes and Chalcolestes species overwinter as an egg, that of the winter dragonflies as an imago. The latter are the only two dragonfly species that overwinter as a fully developed insect.
species
The following overview shows the European representatives of the pond damsel.
Pond damsel - Lestidae
- Genus winter dragonflies ( Sympecma )
- Common winter dragonfly - Sympecma fusca
- Siberian winter dragonfly - Sympecma paedisca
- Genus Binsenjungfern ( Lestes )
- Shiny rush damsel - Lestes dryas
- Common rush damsel - Lestes sponsa
- Little rush maiden - Lestes virens
- Southern rush damsel - Lestes barbarus
- Dark rush damsel - Lestes macrostigma (Mediterranean area)
Lestes congener occurs in North America .
- Genus Maidenhead ( Chalcolestes )
- Common willow damsel - Chalcolestes viridis
- Eastern willow damsel - Chalcolestes parvidens
literature
- H. Bellmann: Observe dragonflies - determine. Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 1993, ISBN 3-89440-107-9 .
- G. Jurzitza: The Kosmos dragonfly guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-08402-7 .
- K. Sternberg, R. Buchwald: Dragonflies in Baden-Württemberg. Volume 1, Eugen Ulmer Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-8001-3508-6 .
- R. Jödicke: The rush maids and winter dragonflies of Europe. (= The New Brehm Library. 631). Westarp Sciences, Magdeburg 1997, ISBN 3-89432-460-0 .
