Do dragonflies migrate?
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Four-spotted chaser.
| Four-spotted chaser |
Harilik vesikiil
|
Libellula quadrimaculata |
Dragonflies are quite common and well known all over Estonia. This weekend, during a few hours, great numbers of them were in flight in north-western Estonia. The larvae develop into imagos in the water, and the fully-developed imagos hunt for prey near waters. The larvae as well as the imagos are predators, and so our summer tormentors, the mosquitos, got their just deserts.
These masters of flying often settle down and so the species can be identified from the specific wing patterns. The four spots, the quadrimaculata in their Latin name, are precisely the best characteristic for identification of the four-spotted chaser. In addition there is a dark area at the base of the hind wings. The transparent wing material turns greyer as the chaser dragonfly ages; newly emerged imagos have colourful abdomens that also slowly fade in colour. Until the end of Indian Summer – or Old Women's Summer in Estonia – it is dragonfly time.
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