Tiger Dragonfly (Onychogomphus forcipatus) . Species of dragonflies, native to Europe , and is the largest of all the species of this genus.
It is known to others by names such as Small Pincertail, or striped dragonfly.
Summary
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- 1 Description
- 2 Behavior
- 3 Food
- 4 Playback
- 5 Status
- 6 Fountains
Description
This Odonato with a striped body reminds us of the appearance of the fearsome tiger of the African jungles , due to its colors, typical of these mammals , hence its name. It has yellow and black stripes all over its body with a long abdomen, and two separate, large, sky-blue compound eyes. It is paradoxical to observe the way in which his little body is artistically combined with the same tones, being an otherwise fragile animal, very different in all aspects from one of the most fearsome animals in the jungle.
They have well-developed chewing jaws. They can measure up to 10 centimeters in length. Like other dragonflies, they have a very precise and fast flight thanks to their wings.
Behaviour
Nature wisely endows each animal with a skill that allows its subsistence, in the case of the tiger dragonfly it is considered a very fast animal, to the point that it seems to stop time and cause an optical vision in its victim, which at consider that it is static, it approaches confidently and surprisingly in a matter of seconds it is attacked by the dragonfly.
They fly over April and October, always in areas near rivers , or swampy areas, since they carry out part of their life stage underwater . The nymph or naiad lives under water.
Feeding
They are great insect hunters, usually hunting them on the fly. It catches flies, grasshoppers, tadpoles, crickets, mosquitoes, and many other insects, as well as small fish.
Reproduction
It could be said that the process of development and formation of the dragonfly is somewhat long, to reach adulthood it takes time, while its life as an adult usually only lasts months. It reproduces by means of eggs that the female deposits in the cracks of the swamps, on floating plants and in general in places that they consider safe for the protection of the eggs.
The infatuation between the female and the male is usually preceded by a simple courtship in which the male, to attract the attention of the female, flies in the opposite direction to normal, conquered the female, mating is carried out, in which the male fertilizes to the female, after she adopts a posture that facilitates her partner’s sexual access, a peculiarity of the males is to perform a previous cleaning on the female to remove the sperm that she may have from other previous suitors.
At birth, this animal, in order to be a full-fledged tiger dragonfly, must leave the river and go to the mountain, just as saints and prophets must necessarily pass through the desert before they can preach knowingly, dragonflies must tanning and becoming stronger in the mountains, hunting and acquiring their colors of war . To be able to return later, well fed, to carry out their spectacular mating.
Status
It is a species protected by the European Union , since it is becoming more and more scarce, due to pollution and alteration of its habitat, for which the European authorities have taken measures aimed at its conservation.
