''Uropetala carovei'' (New Zealand bush giant dragonfly) is a giant

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Petaluridae The petaltails of the family Petaluridae are apparently the most ancient of the extant true dragonflies (infraorder Anisoptera), having fossil members from as early as the Jurassic (over 150 million years ago). Modern petalurids include only 11 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Its

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name, ''kapokapowai (or kapowai)'' means "water snatcher", alluding to the water dwelling juvenile stage (

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

), which, like all dragonflies, has a long extendable jaw that shoots out to snatch prey. It is also known as Carové's Giant Dragonfly.

Description

Its yellow and black body can be up to long, with a wingspan up to , making it the largest dragonfly in New Zealand. Females are slightly larger than males. The bodies of both the female and male are dark brown, with pale spots on the abdomen and thorax. Males have petal-shaped appendages at the tip of the abdomen. ''Uropetala carovei'' can be distinguished from the similar '' Uropetala chiltoni,'' which occurs in the mountains of the South Island, by its all-black labrum (lacking the large pale blotch on ''Uropetala chiltoni),'' and its brown to yellowish leg

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with ...

segments (which are black in ''Uropetala chiltoni'').

Taxonomy

''Uropetala carovei'' was first described by Adam White (White and Doubleday 1846). The

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

holds the type material (Rowe 1987).

Distribution and habitat

This species is found throughout New Zealand, mostly in western parts of each island, and especially on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

. They are found in damp areas of native forest.

Breeding

Breeding takes place on the banks of forest streams, or near springs. Males establish and aggressively defend territories during the breeding season. After copulation takes place, the female lays eggs on shaded banks of streams, and attaches eggs to clumps of moss, using her

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

. The larval stage (nymph or naiad) tunnels into the soft earth of a stream bank or seepage, where they occupy a chamber half-filled with water for about five years. They emerge at night to seek prey near the burrow entrance. They are sensitive to disturbance so are rarely observed. Uropetala carovei perching on vegetation

Uropetala carovei perching on vegetation

Prey and predators

Adults feed on smaller insects, including butterflies, cicadas and

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

s which they can eat on the wing. The nymph stage of ''U. carovei'' is preyed on by weka and feral cats. Adults are predated by

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s, kingfishers.

Conservation status

As of 2018, the New Zealand Threat Classification System lists the status of ''Uropetala carovei'' as Not Threatened. Its IUCN status is Least Concern.

In Māori culture

The

Ngāti Rongomai Ngāti Rongomai is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The station underwent a major transformation in 1993, becomi ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

of the

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

region have a special association with the ''kapokapowai'' through oral history that describes huge numbers of dragonflies coming to the aid of a leader ''Rakeiao'', and helping him defeat enemies in battle by flying into the faces, eyes and noses of his opponents.

References

External links

* ''Uropetala'' dragonflies discussed on

RNZ Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and cu ...

'' Critter of the Week''
16 September 2016
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2627364 Petaluridae Odonata of New Zealand Insects described in 1846 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic insects of New Zealand