Raised Moor Mosaic Maiden
| Raised Moor Mosaic Maiden | ||||||||||||
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Raised bog damsel ( Aeshna subarctica ), ♂ |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Aeshna subarctica | ||||||||||||
| Sir Walker , 1908 |
The high moor mosaic damsel ( Aeshna subarctica ) is a species of dragonfly from the family of the noble dragonflies (Aeshnidae), which belong to the suborder of the large dragonflies (Anisoptera). The high moor mosaic maiden is a large dragonfly with a wingspan of a maximum of 10.5 centimeters. The European subspecies Aeshna subarctica elisabethae has only been known since 1927; before that, these animals were viewed as color variants of the peat damsel ( Aeshna juncea ). Until then, only the American Aeshna subarctica subarctica was known.
features
The high moor mosaic maiden reaches wing spans of 9 to 10.5 centimeters and is one of the largest dragonflies in Central Europe and North America. The chest section ( thorax ) of the animals is colored gray-brown and has bluish side and dorsal stripes. There is a particular risk of confusion with the peat damsel ( Aeshna juncea ) and with young and not yet colored specimens of the blue-green damsel ( Aeshna cyanea ). The abdomen of the males is black with a clear, mostly yellowish mark on the upper side.
Way of life
The high moor mosaic maiden is active from July to September and can only be found on high moor waters with peat moss - swinging lawn . The males sunning themselves on tree trunks and on vertical peat areas can be found especially in the mornings on sunny days.
The males fly over the peat moss areas in search of females. Mating begins over the lawn and mostly ends in the vegetation. There are often attempts to mate with the peat damsel, but the formation of mating wheels of these species has not yet been observed. The female sticks the eggs into the peat moss.
Larval development
Very little is known about the development of the larvae . They live between the peat plants and their development period is probably three to four years.
threat
This dragonfly, like many other types of bog, is losing its habitat, especially as a result of the increasing destruction of the moor waters, especially the drainage of the same. Their very close connection to the peat moss swinging lawn prevents the use of other bog habitats . For this reason, it is classified in Germany's Red List in hazard category 1 - critically endangered.
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 .
- G. Peters: The noble dragonflies of Europe . (= Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei. Volume 585). Wittenberg 1987, ISBN 3-7403-0050-7 .
- K. Sternberg: Regulation and stabilization of metapopulations in dragonflies, illustrated using the example of 'Aeshna subarctica elisabethae' Djakonov, 1922 in the Black Forest (Anisoptera, Aeshnidae). In: Libellula. 14, 1995, pp. 1-39.
- K. Sternberg: Population ecological studies on a metapopulation of the raised bog mosaic young ('Aeshna subarctica elisabethae' Djakonov, 1922) in the Black Forest. In: Z. Ökologie u. Natural reserve. 4, 1995, pp. 53-60.
- K. Sternberg: Aeshna subarctica elisabethae. In: Klaus Sternberg, Rainer Buchwald (Hrsg.): Die Libellen Baden-Württemberg. Volume 2: Dragonflies (Anisoptera). Ulmer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3514-0 , pp. 93-109.