Dragonflies
Dragonflies | ||||||||||||
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Great pitch dragonfly ( Ischnura elegans ) mating |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Zygoptera | ||||||||||||
Sélys , 1854 | ||||||||||||
Familys | ||||||||||||
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Damselflies or dragonflies ( Zygoptera ) are a suborder of dragonflies ( Odonata ), which are divided into 19 families with about 2600 species.
features
In Europe, the Zygoptera reach a maximum wingspan of 70 mm, the smallest species only measures 19 mm. Your body is slim. Her eyes are on the side of the head, button-shaped and never touch each other on top. In the resting position, dragonflies fold their wings towards the upper side of the thorax, to the rear, directly over the abdomen. Due to the sloping construction of the thorax, this position of rest is possible without a wing joint, as is the case with the new winged wings . Fore and hind wings are almost the same shape. In contrast to the dragonflies, their flight is relatively slow and appears to be flapping and irregular.
The larvae of the dragonfly have several leaf-shaped appendages at the end of their abdomen, which support breathing, but also serve as rudder organs for locomotion in the water.
Way of life
The larvae live in the water. The hemimetabolic animals perform a “maiden flight” after hatching, often moving far away from the breeding waters. However, the adults are usually found near water.
The adults and the larvae are predatory.
protection
All dragonfly species are particularly protected in the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal Species Protection Ordinance. A final decision has not yet been made as to whether the larval skins of the imaginal moult, the exuvia , may be collected or whether an exemption is required for this.
Systematics
Superfamilies and families
An established classification that is widely accepted :
- Hemiphlebioidea
- Coenagrionoidea
- Lestoidea
- Calopterygoidea
Families and species in Europe
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Demoiselle - Calopterygidae
- Blue-winged demoiselle - Calopteryx virgo
- Banded demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens
- Southwest Demoiselle - Calopteryx xanthostoma (Mediterranean area)
- Bronze Demoiselle - Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis (Mediterranean area)
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Pond damsel - Lestidae
- Common winter dragonfly - Sympecma fusca
- Siberian winter dragonfly - Sympecma paedisca
- Shiny rush Lestes dryas
- Common rush damsel - Lestes sponsa
- Little rush maiden - Lestes virens
- Southern rush damsel - Lestes barbarus
- Dark rush damsel - Lestes macrostigma
- Willow damsel - Lestes (Chalcolestes) viridis
- Eastern willow damsel - Lestes (Chalcolestes) parvidens (Southeastern Europe)
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Spring dragonflies - Platycnemididae
- Blue feather dragonfly - Platycnemis pennipes
- White feather dragonfly - Platycnemis latipes (Southwestern Europe)
- Orange-red feather dragonfly - Platycnemis acutipennis (Southern Europe)
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Slender dragonflies - Coenagrionidae
- Early Adonis Dragonfly - Pyrrhosoma nymphula
- Scarlet Dragonfly - Ceriagrion tenellum
- Dwarf Dragonfly - Nehalennia speciosa
- Great pitch dragonfly - Ischnura elegans
- Little pitch dragonfly - Ischnura pumilio
- Spanish pitch dragonfly - Ischnura graellsii (Iberian Peninsula, southern France)
- Island pitch dragonfly - Ischnura genei (Western Mediterranean)
- Cup maiden - Erythromma lindenii
- Large Grenade Eye - Erythromma najas
- Lesser Garnet Eye - Erythromma viridulum
- Common goblet maiden - Enallagma cyathigerum
- Bird Azure Maiden - Coenagrion ornatum
- Helmet Azure Maiden - Coenagrion mercuriale
- Crested Azure Damselfly - Coenagrion armatum
- Horseshoe Damselfly - Coenagrion puella
- Bat-Azure Damselfly - Coenagrion pulchellum
- Spear Damselfly - Coenagrion hastulatum
- Moon Azure Maiden - Coenagrion lunulatum
- Southern Azure Damselfly - Coenagrion caerulescens (Mediterranean area)
- Fork-Azure damsel - Coenagrion scitulum (Mediterranean area)
literature
- H. Wildermuth, Y. Gonseth, A. Maibach: Odonata - The dragonflies of Switzerland. In: Fauna Helvetica. Volume 12, 2005, ISBN 2-88414-024-7