Dragonhunter
| Dragonhunter | |
|---|---|
| |
| Temagami, Ontario | |
| Scientific classification Error creating thumbnail: | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
| Family: | Gomphidae |
| Subfamily: | Hageniinae |
| Genus: | Hagenius Selys, 1854 |
| Species: | H. brevistylus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Hagenius brevistylus Selys, 1854
| |
The dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) is a clubtail dragonfly of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
The dragonfly is much larger than any other North American clubtail, at 3.3 inches (84 mm), with black and yellow markings and green eyes. Males can be distinguished at a distance by their habit of curling their abdomens under while flying, forming a sideways J shape.[1][2]
The dragonhunter is the only member of genus Hagenius. Its closest relatives are Asian dragonflies of genus Sieboldius, which are also sometimes called "dragonhunters". Together, the two genera form the subfamily Hageniinae.
The nymph is unusual, with a very flat, wide body. It is slow-moving and lives among bark and leaf litter at the edges of streams, where its dark color provides camouflage.[3]
The adult feeds on large insects, including darner and clubtail dragonflies, sometimes ambushing them from above.[3][4] It also takes monarch butterflies, eating the thorax and abdomen first to avoid the greatest concentration of cardenolide toxins.[5]
Nomenclature
[edit | edit source]The genus name Hagenius was coined by Edmond de Sélys Longchamps[6] in 1854 from the German Hagens[7] meaning "enclosure," and the Latin suffix -ius meaning "having the characteristics of." The species name brevistylus comes from the combination of the Latin brevis,[8] meaning "short," and stylus,[8] referring to the botanical term style. Together, brevistylus means "short style" in reference to the stubby abdomens and short claspers which are characteristic of members of the clubtail family of dragonflies, or Gomphidae.[9]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Kurt Mead. Dragonflies of the North Woods. Second edition. Duluth, MN:Kollath+Stensaas, 2009.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Hagenius brevistylus , BugGuide
Lua error in Module:Taxonbar at line 165: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).