Early Adonis dragonfly

Early Adonis dragonfly
	Male of the early adonis dragonfly ( Pyrrhosoma nymphula )
Systematics
Subordination :	Dragonfly (Zygoptera)
Superfamily :	Coenagrionoidea
Family :	Dragonfly (Coenagrionidae)
Subfamily :	Coenagrioninae
Genre :	Adonis dragonflies ( Pyrrhosoma )
Type :	Early Adonis dragonfly
Scientific name
	Pyrrhosoma nymphula
	( Sulzer , 1776)

The early adonis dragonfly or early adonis damsel ( Pyrrhosoma nymphula ) is a species of small dragonfly , the German name of which goes back to its early appearance and its red-black color, which is similar to that of red-flowering adonis . In addition to the scarlet dragonfly ( Ceriagrion tenellum ), the early Adonis dragonfly is the only red-colored dragonfly species in Central Europe.

Despite its striking color and frequent occurrence, this type of dragonfly is occasionally overlooked because it likes to hide in the vegetation.

anatomy

The body length is 35 to 45 millimeters, the wingspan 50 to 70 millimeters. The legs of the early Adonis dragonfly are colored black. This is where the early Adonis dragonfly differs from the scarlet dragonfly, whose legs are colored red.

Female with yellow abdomen and abdomen markings

Both sexes of the early Adonis dragonfly have black markings on the abdomen , which in the males are limited to the posterior segments of the abdomen.

In females, three, and some authors also four morphs are distinguished. The typica form has a red mark on the abdomen segments 2 to 6; the last segments are completely black. The red segments have a black center line that widens towards the end of the segment to form a black spot; each is followed by a narrow yellow ring. The form fulvipes is similar to typica , but the black markings on segments 2 to 6 are not as pronounced. Finally, in the melanotum form , the abdomen is predominantly metallic-black, with - at most - slight red components on the sides of segments 2 to 6.

Overall, the black markings are much more pronounced in the females than in the males. Young animals of both sexes have yellow stripes on their breasts (so-called ante-humeral stripes); except in females of the melanotum form, they darken to scarlet red with age.

Life cycle

Detail of the male

Detail of the female

pairing

The flight time of the adults extends from April to August. This makes the early Adonis dragonfly one of the first dragonfly species that can be observed in Central Europe in spring. Only the winter dragonflies that overwinter as imago are active earlier.

Mating occurs only in sunny weather during the early hours of the morning in late spring or early summer. To lay their eggs, the animals land in "tandem" on floating plants or plants protruding from the water. The female attaches the eggs to parts of the plant below the surface of the water. In addition, it is often almost completely immersed in the water. The larvae develop in the water and overwinter in the last larval stage. In the following spring they crawl out of the water on the bank vegetation. There, the free Imagines from its case ( Exuvie ), and it starts a new cycle.

Spreading, habitat

The species is widespread in Europe. In Scandinavia , it occurs only in the southern regions and along the Norwegian coast; the species is absent in parts of southern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula . In a few areas of Greece and southern Albania, the sister species Pyrrhosoma elisabethae flies , which can only be distinguished from P. nymphula by the abdominal appendages or the posterior margin of the pronotum .

The early Adonislibelle's habitat are ponds, slow-flowing streams and, with pleasure, boggy ponds . Since the early Adonis dragonfly rarely sits free, but prefers dense bank vegetation in which the animals can hide, this widespread and strikingly colored species is not seen as often as other common dragonflies. Although it is not endangered due to its frequency, the species, like all native dragonflies, is under conservation.