Banded Demoiselle
Encyclopedia
The Banded Demoiselle is a species of damselfly
belonging to the family Calopterygidae
. It is often found along slow-flowing streams
and rivers. It is an Eurasia
n species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to Lake Baikal
and north-western China
.
The male has translucent wings which each have a broad, dark iridescent blue-black spot (or band) across the outer part. On immature dragonflies the spot is dark brown. The body can be a metallic blue or blue-ish green.
The dark wing patch of the male starts at the nodus (the slight dip midway down the upper edge of the wing) but can reach up to the wing-tip in southern races. In the very similar species C. virgo (Beautiful Demoiselle), the dark starts before the nodus.
The female has translucent, pale green iridescent wings with a white patch near the tip (a pseudopterostigma
), and a metallic green body.
The eggs hatch after 14 days. The larvae
have very long legs and are stick-shaped. They develop over two years, usually. They tolerate muddy water and overwinter buried in mud. When they are ready to moult into an adult, they climb up a suitable reed or plant and shed their skin.
, but large numbers can sometimes be found in lush bankside plants and on floating objects. They court females by opening their wings and performing an aerial dance. They are usually found in canals and quiet rivers with muddy bottoms located in open country.
n species, and is present throughout Eurasia from the Atlantic coast to Lake Baikal
and north-western China
. The Demoiselle is found in Taganay
and Zyuratkul
National Parks of Russia. They also live in National park of Fruška Gora
in Serbia
. They are found throughout the British Isles
, except for the Scottish Highlands
.
Damselfly
Damselflies are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest...
belonging to the family Calopterygidae
Calopterygidae
Calopterygidae are a family of damselflies in the order Odonata and are commonly known as broad-winged damselflies or demoiselles. These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 5–8 cm and they're often metallic-coloured. The family contains some 150 species...
. It is often found along slow-flowing streams
STREAMS
In computer networking, STREAMS is the native framework in Unix System V for implementing character devices.STREAMS was designed as a modular architecture for implementing full-duplex I/O between kernel or user space processes and device drivers. Its most frequent uses have been in developing...
and rivers. It is an Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
and north-western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Identification
This is a large damselfly with a total length of up to 48 millimetres (1.9 in) and a hindwing length of up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in).The male has translucent wings which each have a broad, dark iridescent blue-black spot (or band) across the outer part. On immature dragonflies the spot is dark brown. The body can be a metallic blue or blue-ish green.
The dark wing patch of the male starts at the nodus (the slight dip midway down the upper edge of the wing) but can reach up to the wing-tip in southern races. In the very similar species C. virgo (Beautiful Demoiselle), the dark starts before the nodus.
The female has translucent, pale green iridescent wings with a white patch near the tip (a pseudopterostigma
Pterostigma
The pterostigma is a cell in the outer wing of insects which is often thickened or coloured and so stands out from other cells. It is particularly noticeable in dragonflies, but present also in other insect groups, such as snakeflies, hymenopterans and megalopterans.The purpose of the pterostigma,...
), and a metallic green body.
Eggs and larvae
Females can lay up to 10 eggs per minute for 45 minutes. They lay in a wide variety of emergent or floating plants, sometimes even submerging to do so.The eggs hatch after 14 days. The larvae
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
have very long legs and are stick-shaped. They develop over two years, usually. They tolerate muddy water and overwinter buried in mud. When they are ready to moult into an adult, they climb up a suitable reed or plant and shed their skin.
Behaviour
Males are usually territorialTerritory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
, but large numbers can sometimes be found in lush bankside plants and on floating objects. They court females by opening their wings and performing an aerial dance. They are usually found in canals and quiet rivers with muddy bottoms located in open country.
Natural habitat areas
The Banded Demoiselle is an EurasiaEurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n species, and is present throughout Eurasia from the Atlantic coast to Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
and north-western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The Demoiselle is found in Taganay
Taganay
Taganay is a group of mountain ridges in the Southern Urals, on the territory of Chelyabinsk Oblast, with the highest point rising 1178 m. above sea level. A Taganay National Park was established in 1991, with its south-western border reaching down to the outskirts of Zlatoust...
and Zyuratkul
Zyuratkul' National Park
Zyuratkul is a Russian National Park, established in 1993 in the southern part of Satkinsky Raion . The park lies about 30 km south of Satka and 200 km west of Chelyabinsk....
National Parks of Russia. They also live in National park of Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora is a mountain in north Syrmia. Most part of the territory is located within Vojvodina, Serbia, but a smaller part on its western side overlaps the territory of Croatia...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. They are found throughout the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, except for the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.