Планински пъстролет (Aeshna juncea)
• English name: Moorland Hawker
• German name: Torf-Mosaikjungfer
• French name: Aeschne des joncs
• Dutch name: Venglazenmaker
• Swedish name: Starrmosaikslända
• Norwegian name: Vanlig øyenstikker
• Finnish name: Siniukonkorento
• Danish name: Siv-mosaikguldsmed
• Italian name: Dragone alpino
• Czech name: šídlo sítinové
• Slovenian name: Barjanska deva
• Bulgarian name: Планински пъстролет
Планински пъстролет (Aeshna juncea)
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | • a very large species of northern and north-eastern Europe, which elsewhere occurs only at high altitudes | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Aeshnidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Least Concern | |
| Scientific name | • Aeshna juncea (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Notes | • patrolling males fly tirelessly and endlessly along the water's edge looking for ovipositing females | |
| • may be very difficult to tell apart from A. subarctica, with which it often flies together, but its yellow and blue colours tend to be more vibrant | ||
| • aeshnids are 'fliers': they spend a lot of time on the wing and seldom hang up for a rest | ||
| Habitat | • lakes and ponds in peat bogs and moors | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 65-80 mm; hindwing: 40-48 mm | |
| Both sexes | Head | ➤ unlike in the very similar A. subarctica there is nearly always a yellow spot immediately behind the eye |
| ➤ unlike in the very similar A. subarctica the line across the face narrows at the base of the eye | ||
| Thorax | • the thorax is brown with two wide yellow bands on the side | |
| Wings | • the costa (i.e. the leading edge of the wing) is yellow | |
| Male | Thorax | • the narrow antehumeral stripe is yellow (or, rarely, blue) |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is dark brown with blue spots | |
| Female | Thorax | • the greatly reduced antehumeral stripe is yellow |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is dark brown with yellow or blue spots | |
| Photographs | • our photographs below were made in northern Italy, Finland and Germany |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view.
