SCIENTIFIC NAME: LIBELLULA DEPRESSA
VERNACULAR NAME: BROAD BODIED CHASER

Fig 1
ADULT Wingspan - 80mm. A bold creature with males having a powder-blue pruinescence on the abdomen as well as yellow sides and pale blue antehumeral stripes on the thorax. Females have a yellow-brown abdomen with more obvious yellow sides and yellow antehumeral stripes. Both sexes have brown eyes and dark patches on the bases of all wings.
LARVA Hairy and covered in silt. Emerging usually around May.
BEHAVIOUR A strong, fast flyer with males highly territorial. Both sexes perch and show well. Mating is brief and usually takes place on the wing.
HABITAT Ponds, ditches, small lakes and other well-vegetated watery areas. Quick to colonise new sites.
FLIGHT PERIOD Late April to early September.
STATUS Common in southern Britain.

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