Description

Head and chest close up

Body length 65-80 mm, wingspan up to 110 mm. The eyes of males are greenish-blue, and of females yellowish-green. A black spot on the forehead in the form of the letter T. The chest on top is brown in color, with 2 wide green longitudinal stripes. On the sides of the chest - green, with a black pattern. The males have a black abdomen, green on the back, with blue side spots. In the last segments, all spots are blue. In the male, the upper anal appendages of the abdomen on the peaks are distinctly bent down. In females, the abdomen is brownish-red in color, with green spots or light gray in color, with light blue spots.

Area

Biology

Adults are found from the 2nd decade of June to November (in the south of the range). Females often fly in the evenings. They can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h. They hunt flying insects, even other dragonflies, looking for prey with huge eyes. Prefer large standing reservoirs, ponds and overgrown lakes.

Breeding

Unlike other closely related species, females of the blue rocker do not lay their eggs in water from aquatic vegetation, but on dry ground or moss near the water level. Wintering eggs. Larvae hatch in April. The body of the larvae is wide, thick, stocky, and there are no caudal gills. Larvae live among aquatic plants. Active predators - eat small crustaceans, mosquito larvae, aquatic insects, fish fry. The development of larvae is 2-year-old; they turn into adults after 13 molts. By the end of their development, they reach a length of 50 mm.

Gallery

Notes

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The blue rocker armor (lat. Aeshna cyanea) belongs to the group of Damselfly dragonflies (lat. Anisoptera). The beautiful dragonfly often attracts admiring glances, striking with the magnificence of its dazzling outfit. Its unique beauty inspired more than one generation of jewelers, poets and artists.

In the countries of Asia, it has long been considered a symbol of victory, and in folk medicine, medicinal preparations from dragonflies are used. IN european countries to her a completely different attitude. She was often mistaken for the dark force that brings misfortune on its wings.

Spread

Blue rocker is common in North Africa, Central Asia, in the Middle East and in Europe with the exception of Ireland, Greece and Turkey. Dragonfly lives at altitudes of up to 1400 m above sea level. Her favorite habitat is not far from the shores of lakes, swamps and ponds.

Adult individuals allow themselves to fly long distances for hunting in the glades and along the edge of forest clearings. The antennas of the blue rocker arm are composed of granules of the mineral statolite, which helps the insect to navigate well in space.

Behavior

Dragonfly is a lone hunter by nature. It can fly for many hours in a row at a speed of 9 m / s and with a frequency of flapping wings up to 20 times in one second. This insect can fly long distances, but the pedestrian from it is bad. It can occasionally sit down to rest.

Large faceted eyes consist of 28,000 uncomplicated eyes.

A moving head and complex eyes make this gluttonous person much easier to find food. The oral apparatus is armed with a pair of powerful jaws. The basis of its diet are mosquito-jerking, butterflies and mayflies.

The blue rocker eats small insects on the fly, and catching a larger one, it sits on the nearest plant and eats it calmly. After eating, it thoroughly cleans the paws and goes flying again.

At dusk, numerous flocks of dragonflies hunt for midges. In the heat of hunting, they fly away at remote distances from the reservoir, and sometimes they can fly into human habitation.

Breeding

The breeding season lasts from June to October. During this period, cavaliers actively patrol areas with ponds and lakes in search of females. Flying over the water surface, the male performs intricate acrobatic numbers in the air, trying to attract the partner's attention. Females are limited to swift flights in a straight line.

After mating, the male flies off again to patrol the surroundings. Females and males mate with different partners. After mating flights, the fertilized female is looking for a place for masonry. For this, wet moss or dead parts of the plant are suitable.

The female pierces the plant with her ovipositor and lays eggs in several rows. Only in the spring of next year, 3 mm larvae will emerge from the eggs. Very soon their first molt will begin. The larva of the blue rocker undergoes a molting process 10 times.

Living in a reservoir, she actively eats the larvae of flies, caddis flies and various small invertebrate animals. She hunts with the help of a “mask”, which has 2 claws. During rest, this device is neatly folded under the chest. At a suitable moment, the larva opens it and abruptly throws it forward, as a result, the victim falls into the trap.

10 days before moving to land, the larva passes the preparatory period.

The way of breathing changes completely, the eyes become large. The wings in the small sacs increase.

With the onset of twilight, the larva leaves the pond and, going ashore, climbs a blade of grass. After a while, a small crack forms on her back and head, and the last molt occurs. A very adult insect appears. Its soft wings spread and after some time harden.

The blue rocker sets off on its first flight. The larvae that appeared at the beginning of the season cease their growth with the onset of cold weather and only in the next spring leave the reservoir to complete the metamorphosis. Larvae that were postponed at the end of the mating season develop very slowly. They carry out a complete transformation within 2 years.

Adult life undergoes 3 periods of development. In the first period of maturation (in females up to 16 days, and in males up to 12), males show off in dazzling decoration.

The second stage lasts about 60 days and is completely devoted to the continuation of a kind. During this period, many individuals die. With the advent of the third period, the dazzling outfit of the dragonfly dims, the strained wings refuse to serve, and the insect dies.

Description

The body length reaches 8 cm. The large head rotates in several directions. Huge faceted eyes touch each other. The antennae, consisting of 7 segments, are equipped with spatial orientation organs.

The first pair of legs is directed forward and helps to climb plants, and during the hunt to grab insects. Two pairs of luxurious wings are attached to the chest of the insect. The wings of the rear pair are slightly wider than the wings of the front pair.

A powerful chest consists of two segments of various sizes. A very elongated abdomen contains reproductive organs. The abdomen ends with tick-shaped appendages, which the insect uses for self-defense.

The life span of the adult blue rocker arm is up to 6 months, and the larvae are up to 2 years old.

(Aeschnidae)

Large, variegatedly colored dragonflies, one of the most beautiful representatives of the detachment. The eyes on the crown touch. Wings at rest directed to the sides. Rocker arms can fly for hours without rest. At this time, they often fly away from water bodies. Females lay eggs in living or dead plant tissues, lowering the end of the abdomen into the water. Larvae are active predators, sometimes attacking even fish fry. In some species, development ends in 1 year, in others it lasts up to 4 years.

(Aeschna grandis)

The main body color is brownish red. The wings are golden brown, with reddish veins. Chest on top between wings with 4 blue spots, on the sides with yellow stripes. Abdomen in males on sides with blue, with white spots on top. In females, spots on the abdomen are light gray. Body length 70 - 80 mm, wingspan up to 105 mm.

Dragonflies are found from late June to September. Their flight is characteristic of what they often plan. They fly not only during the day, but also after sunset. Females lay eggs in dead plant tissues immersed in water, or in clusters of dead parts of plants off the coast of water bodies.

Larvae reach a length of 50 mm, develop 2 to 3 years. They prefer stagnant or low-flowing water bodies. They live among aquatic vegetation.

12. Overseer Overseer (Apach imperator)

Eyes above are greenish-blue, below are yellowish-green. The chest is greenish, without stripes. Females have golden yellow wings, and males have colorless wings. In males, the abdomen is blue, with large blackish-brown spots, in females it is bluish-green, spots are larger, with a reddish-brown tint. Body length up to 80 mm, wingspan up to 110 mm.

Dragonflies fly from mid-June to August. They can be found along the shores of small ponds and other standing and low-flowing overgrown ponds. Females lay eggs mainly in dead, submerged parts of plants. Larvae live among aquatic vegetation. Over the year they reach a length of 60 mm and complete their development.

13. The rocker is white-haired (Brachytron hafniense)

The dragonfly is covered with thick whitish hairs, where its name comes from. The eyes of the males are blue, the females are yellowish brown. Chest on top, brown-red, with 2 wide greenish-yellow longitudinal stripes. The sides of the chest are green, with 2 oblique black stripes. The legs are black. The abdomen in males is black, with blue spots and narrow transverse green stripes. Females have yellow spots on the abdomen.

Body length up to 65 mm, wingspan up to 80 mm.

Dragonflies fly in May - July. For egg laying, small standing and low-flowing bodies of water, including swampy ones, are chosen.

The larvae are massive, living among dead parts of aquatic plants. They develop very slowly and overwinter three times.

14. The rocker is blue (Aeschna cyanea)

The eyes of males are greenish-blue, and of females yellowish-green. On the forehead there is a characteristic black spot in the form of the letter T. The chest is brown on top, with 2 wide green longitudinal stripes, green on the sides, with a black pattern. In males, the abdomen is black, with green dorsal and blue lateral spots; on the last abdominal segments, all spots are blue. In females, the abdomen is brownish red with green spots or light gray with light blue spots. Body length 65-80 mm, wingspan up to 110 mm.

Dragonflies are found from mid-June to late autumn. Females often fly in the evenings. Prefer large standing reservoirs, ponds and overgrown lakes.

Larvae live among aquatic plants. The development of larvae lasts 2 years. By the end of development, they reach a length of 50 mm.

The Rocker Family (Aeschnidae)

Our largest dragonflies are rocker (Aeschnidae). One of the common species in the Baikal region is rocker blue (Aeschna juncea), body length up to 70 mm, and in wingspan up to 95 mm. Males are brighter, with a predominance of blue color, especially on the abdomen. Females are dominated by green and yellowish tones. These are beautiful flyers, capable of overcoming tens and even hundreds of kilometers, settling in new reservoirs. Sometimes it is possible to observe the process of release of a dragonfly from a larva, which for this is selected from the water on the protruding parts of the plants. The wings of the young dragonfly are still fragile, turbid, the covers are pale colored. But an hour after hatching, the dragonfly is ready to fly.

In calm weather, a large, slender nymph can be distinguished in the water. dragonflies (Aeschna), which slowly crawling with its feet crawls among aquatic plants or sits on stones, tracking its prey with large faceted eyes. If it is disturbed, the nymph ejects a stream of water from the back gut and moves forward rapidly. In ponds, the rocker larva is a real thunderstorm for all inhabitants. She eats everything that she can overcome, even fry of fish.