Aeshna petalura female laying eggs Phulchowki

Aeshna petalura female laying eggs Phulchowki head

''Aeshna'', or the mosaic darners, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

dragonflies 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 threa ...

from the family

Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its o ...

. Species within this genus are generally known as "hawkers" (

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

) or "darners" (

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

Description

These are relatively large dragonflies. Their thoraces and abdomens are brown in color, with blue or yellow stripes or spots on the thorax, and yellow, blue or green spots on the abdomen. Natalia von Ellenrieder's 2003 paper demonstrated that the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

and

Neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

al species placed in this genus did not share a common ancestor, and proposed the latter be placed in the genus '' Rhionaeschna''. The name ''Aeshna'' was coined by the Danish entomologist Fabricius in the 18th century. The name may have resulted from a printer's error in spelling the Greek ''Aechma'', "a spear". The spelling ''Aeschna'' has been intermittently used over a period of time, but is now abandoned for the original name ''Aeshna''. However, derived genus names (such as '' Rhionaeschna'') retain the 'sch' spelling, as this is how they were first cited.

Species

Many species formerly included in ''Aeshna'' have been split into other genera, including '' Afroaeschna'', '' Andaeschna'', ''

Pinheyschna ''Pinheyschna'' is the Name of a biological genus, scientific name of a genus of dragonfly, dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. These relatively large dragonflies are also known as hawkers. Species The genus ''Pinheyschna'' includes the follo ...

'', '' Rhionaeschna'', and ''

Zosteraeschna ''Zosteraeschna'' is the scientific name of a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. These relatively large dragonflies are also known as hawkers. They are dark brown with yellow-green markings; On the abdomens of the males, much of the ...

''. The genus ''Aeshna'' includes these species: *'' Aeshna affinis'' – southern migrant hawker, blue-eyed hawker *†''

Aeshna andancensis ''Aeshna'', or the mosaic darners, is a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. Species within this genus are generally known as "hawkers" (Old World) or "darners" (New World). Description These are relatively large dragonflies. T ...

'' *''

Aeshna athalia ''Aeshna athalia'' is a species of dragonfly in the genus ''Aeshna''. It is found in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population e ...

'' *''

Aeshna caerulea The azure hawker (''Aeshna caerulea'') is one of the smaller species of hawker dragonflies, (family Aeshnidae). The flight period is from late May to August It is about 62 mm long. Both sexes have azure blue spots on each abdominal segmen ...

'' – azure hawker *''

Aeshna canadensis ''Aeshna canadensis'', the Canada darner, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is common throughout southern Canada and the northern United States.Mead, Kurt. (2017). ''Dragonflies of the North Woods.'' 3rd edition. Duluth, MN: ...

'' – Canada darner *''

Aeshna clepsydra ''Aeshna clepsydra'', the mottled darner, is a species of darner in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North ...

'' – mottled darner *''

Aeshna constricta ''Aeshna constricta'', the lance-tipped darner, is a species of darner in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in ...

'' – lance-tipped darner *''

Aeshna crenata ''Aeshna crenata'', the Siberian hawker, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Belarus, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries ...

'' – Siberian hawker *''

Aeshna cyanea The southern hawker or blue hawker (''Aeshna cyanea'') is a species of hawker dragonfly. Distribution The species is one of the most common and most widespread dragonflies in Europe. The total range is West Palearctic and covers a large part of ...

'' – blue hawker, southern hawker *''

Aeshna eremita ''Aeshna eremita'', the lake darner, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Alaska, the Northern United States and across Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories ...

'' – lake darner *''

Aeshna frontalis ''Aeshna'', or the mosaic darners, is a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. Species within this genus are generally known as "hawkers" (Old World) or "darners" (New World). Description These are relatively large dragonflies. T ...

'' *''

Aeshna grandis The brown hawker (''Aeshna grandis'') is a large dragonfly about long. It is a distinctive species and is easily recognised, even in flight, by its brown body and bronze wings. At rest, blue spots on the second and third segments of the male' ...

'' – brown hawker *''

Aeshna interrupta The variable darner (''Aeshna interrupta'') is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae, native from Alaska through the Northwest Territories to Newfoundland, south to New Hampshire and Michigan in the eastern United States, and to the mountains of New ...

'' – variable darner *''

Aeshna isoceles ''Aeshna isoceles'' is a small hawker dragonfly that is found in Europe, mostly around the Mediterranean, and the lowlands of North Africa. Its common name in English is green-eyed hawker. In Britain it is a rare and local species and is known a ...

'' – Norfolk Hawker *''

Aeshna juncea The common hawker, moorland hawker or sedge darner (''Aeshna juncea'') is one of the larger species of hawker dragonflies. It is native to Palearctic (from Ireland to Japan) and northern North America. The flight period is from June to early Octo ...

'' – common hawker, sedge darner, moorland hawker *'' Aeshna mixta'' – migrant hawker *'' Aeshna palmata'' – paddle-tailed darner *'' Aeshna persephone'' – Persephone's darner *'' Aeshna petalura'' *'' Aeshna septentrionalis'' – azure darner *'' Aeshna serrata'' – Baltic hawker *'' Aeshna shennong'' *'' Aeshna sitchensis'' – zigzag darner *''

Aeshna subarctica ''Aeshna subarctica'', the subarctic darner, is a species of darner in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Europe and Northern Asia (excluding China) and North America. The IUCN conservation status of ''Aeshna subarctica'' is "LC", least concer ...

'' – bog hawker, subarctic darner *''

Aeshna tuberculifera ''Aeshna tuberculifera'', the black-tipped darner, is a species of darner in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies fou ...

'' – black-tipped darner *'' Aeshna umbrosa'' – shadow darner *''

Aeshna vercanica ''Aeshna'', or the mosaic darners, is a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. Species within this genus are generally known as "hawkers" (Old World) or "darners" (New World). Description These are relatively large dragonflies. ...

'' *'' Aeshna verticalis'' – green-striped darner *''

Aeshna viridis ''Aeshna viridis'', the green hawker, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Mont ...

'' – green hawker *'' Aeshna walkeri'' – Walker's darner *''

Aeshna williamsoniana ''Aeshna williamsoniana'', Williamson's darner, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and possibly Honduras. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist monta ...

'' – Williamson's darner

References

External links

''Aeshna''
BugGuide *Corbet, P. S. 1999. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA, 829pp. *von Ellenrieder, N., 2003. A synopsis of the Neotropical species of'' 'Aeshna' ''Fabricius: the genus ''Rhionaeschna'' Förster (Odonata: Aeshnidae). - ''Tijdschrift voor Entomologie'' 146 (1): 67-207. {{Taxonbar, from=Q746347 Aeshnidae Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Anisoptera genera