Western Demoiselle

Southwest Demoiselle ( Calopteryx xanthostoma )

The Southwest Demoiselle ( Calopteryx xanthostoma ) is a dragonfly of the family of the Demoiselles ( Calopterygidae ). Its distribution area is focused on the south-western Europe.

Features

The Southwest Demoiselle is similar in appearance very much the banded demoiselle. It can reach a wingspan of 65 to 75 millimeters. The males have a dark, metallic - blue body.

The wings have a clear, dark pigmented wing band that rarely basalwärts to the middle between the wing base and node ranges in comparison with the Blue-winged Demoiselle, in contrast to the banded demoiselle but also fills the wing tips. The last abdominal segments of the male are also yellowish, while they are whitish in the banded demoiselle. The females of the banded and the southwestern Prachtlibelle are morphologically indistinguishable.

Dissemination

The distribution area of ​​southwestern Demoiselle is limited to the western Mediterranean, and extends in Europe from Portugal and nearly the whole of Spain over France as far into the north-western Italy. It is also to be found in Sicily and possibly in isolated areas in Algeria and Tunisia. The animals live in the area of clear streams and rivers.

Way of life

Flight time in the Southwest Demoiselle is from April to September, with their behavior largely the other Demoiselles as the banded demoiselle (C. splendens) or the blue wing Demoiselle (C. virgo) corresponds.

System

The species status of the southwestern Demoiselle is partially not fully understood and is primarily due to differences in mating behavior. The general opinion she is one of about 20 known species of the genus Calopteryx today dar. Besides this kind are three other species represented in Europe, where the Bronze Demoiselle (C. haemorrhoidalis ) and the southwestern Prachtlibelle occur two kinds only in southern Europe. All other types are located across the Holarctic and are found accordingly in North America and Asia.

The sister species of the southwestern Prachtlibelle represents the Banded Demoiselle, as its subspecies it is partially considered. After molecular biological investigations show for the European species of the following relationship:

Other Calopteryx species

Banded Demoiselle (C. splendens)

Southwest Demoiselle (C. xanthostoma )

Bronze Demoiselle (C. haemorrhoidalis )

Blue-winged Demoiselle (C. virgo)