Bladetail (Lindenia tetraphylla)

• English name: Bladetail
• German name: Seedrache
• French name: Lindénie à quatre feuilles
• Dutch name: Vaandeldrager
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Lindenia
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: Velika peščenka
• Bulgarian name: Езерно цигулче

Bladetail
(Lindenia tetraphylla)

Not present

Present before 1990

Present after 1990

Present before and after 1990

Present after 2015

Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies

General		➤ a large but slender species which in Europe occurs only in the south-east
Classification		• suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Gomphidae
Conservation status		• IUCN Red List Europe: Vulnerable
Scientific name		• Lindenia tetraphylla (Vander Linden, 1825)
Name genus		• Lindenia: after Pierre Léonard Vander Linden (1797-1831), Belgian entomologist
Name species		• tetraphylla: Latinized feminine form from Grk. τετρα- = four +; -φυλλος, -ος, -ον = -leafed; [φύλλον = leaf] ⇒ for the four broad flaps on the side of S7 and S8
Distribution		• click or tap the Map button above
Habitat		• large lakes and gravel pits with extensive reed beds
Dimensions		• typical body length: 69-80 mm; hindwing: 36-40 mm
Notes		• gomphids are 'sitters': they spend a lot of time perched on rocks and vegetation
		• the base colour on the thorax and abdomen can range from pale beige to very dark grey
Both sexes	Head	➤ like in all other gomphids, the eyes are widely separated
Male	Abdomen	➤ the upper appendages are very long and straight, while S7 and S8 bear broad flaps on the side
Female	Abdomen	➤ S2 and S3 bear an orange band, while S7 and S8 bear broad flaps on the side
Photographs		• all of our photos below were made in Tuscany and Turkey