Broad-bodied Chaser
Plattbauch ( Libellula depressa ), male
The Plattbauch ( Libellula depressa ) is a dragonfly of the family sailing Dragonflies ( Libellulidae ) with a conspicuous broad, flattened, slightly plump body acting. Mature males and females are colored differently. The species is a poor Pionierbesiedler vegetation, sunlit pools with loamy or sandy- gravelly shores. In 2001 she was elected to the insect of the year.
- 3.1 Flight Times
Features
Construction of Imago
The dragonflies reach a body length of 40 to 45 millimeters at a range of 70 to 80 millimeters. The wings are transparent, only the base is dark colored. In the fore wings by a narrow, elongated spot at the hind wings by a großflächigeres triangle. The abdomen (abdomen) is six to eight millimeters wide, strongly flattened and tapers only behind the half. In the male it is waxy colored light blue, and in juvenile animals laterally yellowish spots that fade later. The females have a yellow-brown at first, later olive - and finally dark brown abdomen, which on pages marked yellow spots are seen, which does not fade with age. The rest of the body is colored predominantly dark brown.
Construction of the larva
The larva of the flat belly is hairy and has a plump body, which reaches a length of 25 millimeters and a width of eight millimeters. From the first to the third instar, the larvae are brownish gray possess between the eyes a darker drawing in the form of a V. After the third instar larvae are darker and grayer. This increases with the moults further, so that in the end is no longer visible, the V between the eyes. The antennas consist of seven segments, the first two of which are rather short and broad, the remaining five, however slim. The fourth and fifth segment is also significantly shorter than the other, the seventh dots. The labium is similar in shape and size to that of the larva of the four- spot. The abdomen is very furry and has four to eight rearward tubercles on segments on. The species has extremely small Lateraldornen on segments eight and nine or none at all.
Similar Species
The Imago similar to:
- Spitzenfleck ( Libellula fulva )
- Big Blue Arrow ( Orthetrum cancellatum ) and other blue arrows
- Vierfleck ( Libellula quadrimaculata )
The larva is very similar to that of the Four spot. It can be distinguished that the Lateraldornen are formed when Plattbauch much less.
Occurrence
The animals are used in almost all of Europe, except in the northeast. One finds the larvae, especially in small, stagnant waters that are not shaded in the summer and can also dry out. Only rarely will you find the animals in flowing waters. Furthermore waters are preferred with low vegetation and low soil mud fraction or those waters whose basic is free, or at most oxygen-rich ( aerobic ) has mud.
Way of life
Platt bellies are excellent fliers and can reach very high speeds. Her eyesight is very well trained. They feed on insects caught in flight, they think with their legs and eat in flight. You are highseat, that is, they lie in wait for prey on exposed areas. From these points they also defend their territory against other dogs and looking at the same females for mating.
Flight Times
The dragonflies fly from early May to late July, sometimes into August. Two maxima are reached, the reasons for the fact that some larvae do not hibernate, but are grown in the first year.
Mating and development
Mating takes place in flight and takes less than 30 seconds. The females often fly over long distances and thus colonize new waters. They throw their eggs in flight from with rocking motion on flat water. Touch to the abdomen tip the water surface. Planted be about 20 to 100 eggs. The eggs are in the form of a sphere, the sharpened at two opposite sides. In the direction of the tips, they are between 0.6 and 0.8 millimeters long in the vertical direction between 0.3 and 0.5 millimeters. Much like the eggs of the four- spot the eggs of the Platt belly be protected by an approximately one millimeter thick gelatinous envelope. The first milky-white gelatinous envelope becomes cloudy over time. And the egg is colored by first yellowish white through to brown black.
The larvae hatch after about four weeks and hold initially close to water plants. Only later did they live in vegetation Wi shallow water. They sit on the ground, partially covered with mud and lie in wait for prey. They eat insects and insect larvae, crustaceans, worms and larvae of amphibians. If its waters dry up they hide in the mud, as they do also in their wintering. Their development is completed within one to two years and 11 larval stages. The wing sheaths first appear after the fourth molt. Early to mid-May hatch imagines.