Libellula depressa
Libellula depressa Linnaeus, 1758
Local names: Broad bodied chaser, Broad bodied darter, Plattbauch, Platbuik, Libellule déprimée, Bred trollslända
Species Information
Description
This dragonfly has a very stout appearance; the abdomen is quite wide and flattened. The fore and hind wings both have a blackish brown patch at the base. Patches reach equally far in the fore wing as in the hind wing. The underside of S1 in the male (anterior to the secondary genitalia) bears two robust spines, a structure not seen on any other European dragonfly.
Immature males and females have a uniform yellow-brown colour. The mature males get a light-blue pruinosity on the abdomen. In both sexes, the sides of the abdomen has yellow spots. These tend to disappear with age, especially in males.
The wing base patches are more extensively marked and the abdomen is broader than on any other Orthretrum or Libellula species.
Size
Habitat
Libellula dipressa is found in almost any type of still and slow flowing waters, ranging from slow rivers to deep lakes. It is often found in habitats in the early stages of succession where parts of the banks are still bare and is often one of the first species to colonise man-made water bodies, including garden ponds. Libellula dipressa is most common in lowland areas up to 700 m. However, breeding has been recorded in the Alps up to 1 400 m.
Distribution
Libellula dipressa is one of the most common and widespread European species. To the north it is limited to the southern parts of Fennoscandia and Scotland. There is a single record from Ireland, presumably from a vagrant individual. It is widespread and common throughout much of its range. In Great Britain it has expanded approximately 100 km northwards during the last century, which is largely attributed to climate warming.
Flight Period
From the end of April to mid-September.
Behavior
Makes fast, direct dashes from a conspicuous perch or patrol relentlessly back and forth. Territories are often not very large so even if males tend to be very aggressive several males can share a pool.
Immature and female individuals are found a bit away from water in glades and other sunlit areas where one often can come rather close to them. They seldom perch directly on the ground but rather in lower vegetation or up to eye level in trees or bushes.
Mating is done in air and is over in seconds. Sometimes you can see immature males mating each other. Eggs are oviposited just below the water surface from flying females. Sometimes the females lay their eggs on seemingly odd places, like in wet parts of a well watered lawn, and also the species can be triggered to oviposit by polished surfaces like a newly washed car.
Larvae development is two years. Exuviae are found low, directly by the water or several meters away from it.
Conservation Status
Similar Species
Libellula fulva
External Links
Genus: Libellula
Libellula is a genus of dragonflies, commonly called chasers or skimmers, in the family Libellulidae. They are distributed throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are found in the North America.
Identification
The Libellula are medium-sized dragonflies, with diagnostic dark triangular patches at the hindwing base, normally crossed by pale veins. They have 12-20 antenodal cross-veins, and is the only libellulid genus in Europe with always more than one cross-vein in each so-called bridge space (the long triangular space below the subnode).
Separation from other genera
Leucorrhinia is the only genus also with dark hindwing patches whose distributions overlap widely., but in these the patches are smaller and not pale-veined. Leucorrhinia species are also much smaller, have 7-8 antenodal cross-veins and bright white frons. Mature males of Diplacodes lefebvrii and Trithemis festiva have dark hindwing patches but are much smaller, sleeker and generally darker. Orthetrum species can be similarly robust and pruinose, but never have more than a slight yellow colouring at the wing base.
Separation of the species
Identification is best done by abdomen shape, wing patterns and body colours. The three widespread species also have rather different habitat preferences.
Behaviour
Males are aggressive and territorial and relentlessly chase off rivals with fast dashes after which they return to their preferred perches. They do not oviposit in tandem, but females are usually guarded by the male hovering overhead. However, L. fulva and probably L. pontica oviposit alone.
Family: Libellulidae
The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world. It is sometimes considered to contain the Corduliidae as the subfamily Corduliinae and the Macromiidae as the subfamily Macromiinae. Even if these are excluded, there still remains a family of over 1000 species. With nearly worldwide distribution, these are almost certainly the most often seen of all dragonflies.
The genus Libellula is mostly New World, but also has one of the few endangered odonates from Japan: Libellula angelina. Many of the members of this genus are brightly colored or have banded wings. The related genus Plathemis includes the whitetails. The genus Celithemis contains several brightly marked species in the southern United States. Members of the genus Sympetrum are called darters (or meadowhawks in North America) and are found throughout most of the world, except Australia. Several Southern Hemisphere species in the genera Trithemis and Zenithoptera are especially beautiful. Other common genera include Tramea and Pantala.
The libellulids have stout-bodied larvae with the lower lip or labium developed into a mask over the lower part of the face.
The family name may have been derived from the Latin libella which means booklet.