SCARCE CHASER |
LIBELLULA FULVA |
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| Fig 1 |
ADULT: Wingspan - 74mm. A typical chaser with the males best recognised by the blue-grey eyes, black-brown thorax and abdomen with a pale-blue pruinescence, blackish base and tip The female has brown eyes, and olive-brown thorax and an abdomen that is ochre-brown that has a black longitudinal mid-line. This mid-line also widens towards the tip into a series of bell shapes. Both sexes have dark-wing bases and can have dusky wing patches on the wing-tips. BEHAVIOUR: Males are territorial but are happy to exist alongside other species. Mating takes up to 15-30 minutes and occurs on a well-chosen perch. HABITAT: Slow-flowing rivers and dykes that are neutral or base-rich. Sometimes a pond will be used as a breeding site or indeed a gravel pit. FLIGHT PERIOD: Late April to late July. STATUS: Locally common only occurring on a few river systems in East Anglia and southern England. |