Onychogomphus uncatus

Onychogomphus uncatus
Onychogomphus uncatus, female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Family:	Gomphidae
Genus:	Onychogomphus
Species:	O. uncatus
Binomial name
Onychogomphus uncatus (Charpentier, 1840)
Synonyms
Aeshna uncata Charpentier, 1840

Onychogomphus uncatus, the Large Pincertail or 'Blue-eyed Hook-tailed Dragonfly', is a species of 'dragonflies' belonging to the family Gomphidae.

This 'dragonfly' is bigger and rarer than the 'Small Pincertail' (Onychogomphus forcipatus). It is present in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

The adults grow up to 65 millimetres (2.6 in) long and can be encountered close to running water and lakes from mid April through late August.

The eyes of Onychogomphus uncatus are widely separated and bright-blue or gray-blue eyes, never green. The front black line on the side of the thorax does not touch the midline. The yellow collar at the front of the thorax is interrupted by a black bar. It has four cells on the anal triangle of the rear wing, but no yellow line on the 'vertex'. 'Cercoids' are always yellow. Their life cycle lasts about three years.

References

• Schutte, C., P. Schridde & F. Suhling. 1998. Life history patterns of Onychogomphus uncatus (Charpentier) (Anisoptera: Gomphidae). Odonatologica, 27:71-86.
• Suhling, F. 1995. Temporal patterns of emergence of the riverine dragonfly Onychogomphus uncatus (Odonata: Gomphidae). Hydrobiologia, 302:113-118
• Manuel Ferreras-Romero; Philip S. Corbet - Seasonal patterns of emergence in Odonata of a permanent stream in Southwestern Europe Aquatic Insects: International Journal of Freshwater Entomology Volume 17, Issue 2, 1995, Pages 123 - 127

External links

• Fauna Europaea
• Biolib