Lestes macrostigma

The Dark Emerald Damselfly (Lestes macrostigma ) is a dragonfly of the genus of the bins Virgin (Lestes ) and belongs to the family of the pond Virgin ( Lestidae ).

Description

The dragonflies reach a wingspan from 5 to 5.5 centimeters. They are colored light blue and bright blue on the head and thorax. You have a black abdomen, which is at the end also dyed light blue and slightly thickened. They are generally darker in color than other bins Virgin. Striking is the Flügelmal, which extends over three cells.

Similar Species

The Dark bins maiden see the other bins Virgin are similar but by the Flügelmal easy to distinguish.

Occurrence

They are widely used in Southern and Western Europe, but only represented locally and especially in the Mediterranean area around Greece, far to the east often. Occasionally, they are also found in Central Europe. They live especially at shallow salty lakes. They fly from May to September.

Way of life

The behavior of animals is very similar to the other bins Virgin. The animals are mostly found on vertical parts of plants sitting, there is also the pairing takes place in tandem. The eggs are in Paarungsrad in rising from the water, vertical plants such as razor eg rushes. Only very rarely oviposition without the male takes place. It is particularly in this way that they fly around far.

Development

The eggs overwinter before the larvae hatch. These need to develop only 8 to 10 weeks. Therefore, it can be assumed that several generations per year occur. The larvae feed preferentially on small crustaceans and insect larvae.