Golden-Ringed Dragonfly

• The female lays her eggs hanging vertically over the water and jabbing her abdomen repeatedly into the sand of the bottom, like a sewing machine.
• Its larva lives buried in the sediment of the stream for three to five years, and in cold mountain water it can take longer still.
• It needs clean, cool streams with bankside vegetation, and is an excellent indicator of headwaters in good condition.
• It is Europe's longest dragonfly: the female reaches 8.4 cm, more than the emperor, although the latter has a greater wingspan.
• That extra length comes from a very long ovipositor, with which the female stabs the stream bed vertically, driving it in repeatedly like a sewing machine to lay her eggs in the sand.
• Its larva is among the longest-lived of European dragonflies: it can spend up to five years buried in the sediment, hunting in ambush with only its eyes exposed.
• That larva is very demanding about water quality, so the species serves as an indicator of clean, well-oxygenated streams.
• Its yellow and black rings on a dark background give it a frightening giant-wasp look, but it is harmless.
• Males patrol stretches of stream flying low, following the course of the water rather than defending a fixed spot.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat and environment

Clean, cool, shaded mountain streams with sandy and gravelly beds

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (en): Golden-ringed dragonfly

Best time: June to September, over mountain streams