Lestes sponsa

Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa ), male

The Common Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa ) is a species of the family pond Virgin ( Lestidae ). Because of its ecological adaptability - including a lower binding to ephemeral (intermittent drying ) waters - these small dragonfly is abundant and occurs constant than other bins Virgin. Only the willows damselfly ( Lestes viridis or Chalcolestes ) is considered to be more frequent type of Lestidae family. The scientific species name stands for sponsa " bride, fiance 'and refers to the fact that the egg-laying usually jointly by females and males - is carried out - in tandem.

Features

Lestes sponsa is 35 to 39 millimeters long. The wingspan is about 4 to 4.5 inches. Males have a dark metallic shade of green, while females appear more coppery. With out colored male parts of the lower thorax, the first two abdominal segments and the abdome are frosted light blue. The Common Emerald Damselfly is easy with the somewhat rarer Shining Emerald Damselfly (Lestes dyas ) be confused. But the males differ by just extending lower (inner) abdomen attachments and a completely blue frosted second abdominal segment. In both species the wings of times mature animals are black in color. The back of the head is uniformly dark. In females, the ovipositor ( ovipositor ) does not extend beyond the rear the 10th abdominal segment. In repose the wings of all pond Virgin are typically not created.

Occurrence and life

The area of this force as a Euro Siberian faunal species ranges from northern Spain and western Europe to northern Asia. In Finland, it penetrates to the Arctic Circle. In the West, particularly in southern Europe it is rather rare in Central and Northern Europe, however, frequently. Preferred habitats are fishless, weedy, sunlit pools, ponds, ditches and bogs. Intermittent drying up of ponds can survive the eggs of the Emerald Damselfly without prejudice. The flight season begins in May and ends in October, in August it reaches its climax. The animals are very sociable; often takes the kind syntopically on with the Shining Binsenjungfer. A population may consist of several hundred individuals. The dragonflies hunt near the shore small insects; in the aquatilen larval period are small crustaceans and insects on the menu. The larvae are very voracious and can suppress the occurrence of other damselfly at high stocking density.

Reproduction

Copulation takes place dragonflies typically by males and females together cling and form a Paarungsrad. The partners stay together even during oviposition. The female scratches with its ovipositor to a stem or a leaf of a water plant. The eggs are inserted into two to three in the plant. The tray starts to water, the animals dive back under and on. The eggs hatch the following spring. The larvae are then first sluggish. After six to eight weeks they are fully grown and get out of the water.

Others

Imagines of Commons Binsenjungfer can stay under water up to half an hour. The larvae may at risk their gill filaments at predetermined breaking points yield ( autotomy ), they regenerate with the next molt.