Bronze dragonfly
| Bronze dragonfly | ||||||||||||
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Bronze demoiselle ( Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis ), male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis | ||||||||||||
| ( Vander Linden , 1825) |
The Bronze Demoiselle ( Calopteryx hemorrhoidal ), also brown or red Demoiselle is called, is a dragonfly from the family of calopterygidae (Calopterygidae). Their distribution area is limited to southwest Europe and the northern Maghreb .
features
The bronze dragonfly has an abdomen length of 34 to 43 millimeters for males and 31 to 43 millimeters for females - the total length is 45 to 48 millimeters. The wing length (hind wing) is 23 to 32 millimeters in the male and 25 to 37 millimeters in the female; thus both sexes reach a span of about 45 to 70 millimeters.
The males have a dark, shiny metallic body, the color of which can be red-violet, golden or copper-colored. On the underside of the last two abdominal segments there is a pink to red color, the so-called "red lantern". The species owes its scientific name haemorrhoidalis , which is derived from the Latin term for "blood flow", to this feature .
The wings have a distinct, dark pigmented wing band, which is very broad compared to other species. The females have a metallic-green to bronze-colored body and a brown belt on the back, the hind wings have a conspicuous brown band up to the wing tip.
Due to the development of the wing color, a general distinction is made between three subspecies, with the nominate form C. h. haemorrhoidaleis the wing ligament extends almost or completely to the tip of the hind wing. At C. h. occasi the band extends to the middle between the node and the wing tip of the forewing, while the tip of the hind wing is transparent.
distribution
The distribution area of the bronze demoiselle is limited to the western Mediterranean area and extends in Europe from Spain and Portugal via southern France to Italy and the islands of the western Mediterranean ( Balearic Islands , Corsica , Sardinia , Sicily , Malta ). In North Africa, they are found in northern Morocco , Algeria and Tunisia . The subspecies C. h. occasi the northern areas of southern France and the western Mediterranean coast of Italy and C. h. asturica the coastal area of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Spain, while the nominate form C. h. haemorrhoidalis occupies the entire remaining area of distribution.
Clear waters in the upper reaches of the brooks and open flowing waters rich in water plants are preferred as habitats. The animals have often been found together with dragonflies of other species - so they are sometimes out and about in large groups.
Way of life
The flight time of the bronze demoiselle ranges from May to September, whereby their behavior largely corresponds to that of other demoiselle like the banded demoiselle ( C. splendens ) or the blue-winged demoiselle ( C. virgo ).
The male performs a characteristic mating dance, showing the end of the abdomen , flies in curves and spreads his wings wide. In addition, it takes a crooked posture when flying. If the female is ready to mate, it follows the male after its performance.
Systematics
The bronze demoiselle represents one of about 20 species of the genus Calopteryx known today. In addition to this species, three other species are represented in Europe, with the bronze demoiselle and the southwestern demoiselle ( C. xanthostoma ) only occurring in southern Europe. All other species are distributed over the Holarctic and can also be found in North America and Asia.
The sister species of the bronze dragonfly is probably the blue-winged dragonfly; According to molecular biological studies, the European species are related as follows:
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Georg Rüppell: The magnificent dragonflies of Europe. Neue Brehm-Bücherei Volume 654, Westarp Sciences Hohenwarsleben 2005; Pp. 203-204. ISBN 3-89432-883-5 .
- ↑ a b Gerhard Jurzitza: The Kosmos dragonfly guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 2000; P. 171. ISBN 3-440-08402-7 .
- ↑ B. Misof, CL Anderson, H. Hadrys: A phylogeny of the damselfly genus Calopteryx (Odonata) using mitochondrial 16S rDNA markers. ( Memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Academic Press, Orlando Fla. 15.2000, 1, 5-14 (PDF version). ISSN 1095-9513
Web links
- Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis in Fauna Europaea
- Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Posted by: Clausnitzer, V., 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- Video: Space competition in the demoiselle Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1991, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / D-1766 .