Dragonflies

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Dragonflies
Flat stomach (Libellula depressa)

Flat stomach ( Libellula depressa )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Subclass : Flying insects (Pterygota)
Order : Dragonflies (Odonata)
Subordination : Dragonflies (Anisoptera)
Superfamily : Libelluloidea
Family : Dragonflies
Scientific name
Libellulidae
Rambur , 1842

The libellulidae or short dragonflies (Libellulidae) are a family of dragonflies (Anisoptera). They also belong to the dragonflies (Odonata). With 987 species, the dragonflies form the most species-rich family within the suborder Great Dragonflies (Anisoptera) and represent the second most species-rich family of all families within the order Odonata (dragonflies) worldwide. In Germany there are 22 species, including some very common. As relatively large dragonflies, they are usually very noticeable.

features

The sail dragonflies reach body lengths of three to five centimeters and wingspans that are usually around eight centimeters. The animals usually have a yellow-brown markings, sometimes with blue tires, and are never colored metallic. In some species, such as the flat belly ( Libellula depressa ), the body is short and stocky. The wing triangle is aligned along the body in the fore wing, but perpendicular to the body in the hind wing. Except in the genus Diastatops , the eyes touch on the top of the head. The ovipositor of the females is reduced. The animals catch insects in flight, but are not very persistent fliers; Exception z. B. Wandering dragonfly - Pantala flavescens .

Reproduction and development

In the majority of species, the females lay their eggs without the male accompanying them. The darter of the genus Sympetrum are an exception . In flight, the eggs are released into the water by rocking movements of the abdomen. Some darter eggs lay their eggs on the dry ground near the bank. With these, the development begins the following spring with the spring flooding.

Preparation of a dragonfly larva in acrylic

The larval development of the dragonfly usually takes one to two years, with the larvae hibernating once as young and late larvae. The darter have a year-long development and overwinter as an egg.

Systematics

The following overview shows all taxa up to the level of the subfamily , at the species and genus level, however, only the European representatives of the dragonfly are shown. Complete lists can be found in the corresponding subfamily or generic articles.

Dragonflies - Libellulidae

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Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martin Schorr, Martin Lindeboom and Dennis Paulson: World Odonata List. ( MS Excel ; 871 kB) January 2011, accessed on January 29, 2011 .

literature

  • Heiko Bellmann : Observe dragonflies - determine , Naturbuch Verlag Augsburg, 1993, ISBN 3-89440-107-9
  • Gerhard Jurzitza: The Kosmos Dragonfly Guide , Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co., Stuttgart, 2000, ISBN 3-440-08402-7
  • J. Silsby: Dragonflies of the world , Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001
  • Klaus Sternberg, Rainer Buchwald: Libellen Baden-Württemberg , Volume 2, Großlibellen, Eugen Ulmer Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3514-0
  • Garrison, von Ellenrieder , Louton: Dragonfly Genera of the New World [p. 139], The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2006, ISBN 0-8018-8446-2

Web links

Commons : Dragonflies  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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