Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of

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

, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 species. The family includes some of the largest dragonflies.

Description

Common worldwide or nearly worldwide genera are ''

Aeshna ''Aeshna'', or the mosaic darners, is a genus of dragonfly, 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 drag ...

'' and ''

Anax (Greek alphabet, Greek: ; from earlier , ') is an ancient Greek word for "tribal chief, lord (military) leader".. It is one of the two Greek titles traditionally translated as "king", the other being basileus, and is inherited from Mycenaean G ...

''. ''Anax'' includes some of the largest dragonflies, including the North American '' A. walsinghami'', Hawaiian '' A. strenuus'', European '' A. imperator'' and '' A. immaculifrons'', and African '' A. tristis'', but these are all exceeded by another member of the family, the Asian ''

Tetracanthagyna plagiata The giant hawker (''Tetracanthagyna plagiata'') or the gigantic riverhawker, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is found throughout Sundaland, having been recorded on Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Born ...

'', which by wingspan and weight is the world's largest dragonfly. There are 41 North American species in 11 genera in this family. Most European species belong to ''Aeshna''. Their American name "darner" stems from the female abdomens looking like a sewing needle, as they cut into plant stem when they lay their eggs through the

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 typica ...

. The dragonflies mate in flight. The

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s are deposited in water or close by. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e (

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

or naiads) are generally slender compared to those of other families, with a long and flat extensible lower lip (labium). The larvae are aquatic

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s, feeding on other insects and even small fish. The adults spend large amounts of time in the air and seem to fly tirelessly with their four large and powerful

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

. They can fly forwards or backwards or hover like a helicopter. The wings are always extended horizontally. Their

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

s are long and thin. Most are colored blue and or green, with black and occasionally yellow. Their large, hemispherical,

compound eye A compound eye is a Eye, visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidium, ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens (anatomy), lens, and p ...

s touch in the midline and nearly cover their heads. They have an extremely good sight, and are voracious insect predators, using their sharp, biting mouthparts. They are therefore very beneficial to mankind. All are extremely hard to catch because of their flying abilities and keen sight.

Taxonomy and genera

The name Aeshnidae was first proposed as a family by Elford Leach in 1815. The spelling of Aeshnidae may have resulted from a printer's error in spelling the Greek ''Aechma'', "a spear". The spelling Aeschnidae has been intermittently used over a period of time, but is now abandoned for the original name Aeshnidae. However, derived genus names (such as ''

Rhionaeschna ''Rhionaeschna'' is the scientific name of a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies, found nearly worldwide, with more than 50 genera and over 450 specie ...

'') retain the 'sch' spelling, as this is how they were first cited. *''

Acanthaeschna ''Acanthaeschna victoria'', the thylacine darner, is a species of Australian dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Acanthaeschna''. ''Acanthaeschna victoria'' is rare and endemic to coastal areas of both south ...

'' *'' Adversaeschna'' *'' Aeschnophlebia'' *''

'' *'' Afroaeschna'' *'' Agyrtacantha'' *'' Allopetalia'' *'' Amphiaeschna'' *'' Anaciaeschna'' *''

'' *'' Andaeschna'' *''

Antipodophlebia ''Antipodophlebia'' is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae, with only one species, which is endemic to south-eastern Australia. Species The genus includes one species: * '' Antipodophlebia asthenes'' - Terrestrial evening darner Se ...

'' *†''

Antiquiala ''Antiquiala'' is an extinct anisopteran genus in the dragonfly family Aeshnidae with a single described species, ''Antiquiala snyderae''. The species is solely known from the Early Eocene sediments exposed in the northeast of the U.S. state of W ...

'' *''

Austroaeschna ''Austroaeschna'' is a genus of dragonflies in the diverse family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It ...

'' *'' Austrogynacantha'' *''

Austrophlebia ''Austrophlebia'' is a small genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae. Species of this dragonfly are very large with strong yellow markings on the thorax. They are endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single ...

'' *'' Basiaeschna'' *'' Boyeria'' *''

Brachytron ''Brachytron'' is a monotypic genus of European dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae containing the hairy dragonfly (''Brachytron pratense''), also known as the hairy hawker or spring hawker. It is found in Europe and Asia Minor, as far east as the ...

'' *'' Caliaeschna'' *'' Castoraeschna'' *'' Cephalaeschna'' *'' Coryphaeschna'' *'' Dendroaeschna'' *''

Dromaeschna ''Dromaeschna'' is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae. Species of ''Dromaeschna'' are large dragonflies endemic to north-eastern Australia. ''Dromaeschna'' is considered a distinct genus in the World Odonata List, however, due to rec ...

'' *†'' Eoshna'' *'' Epiaeschna'' *'' Gomphaeschna'' *'' Gynacantha'' *'' Gynacanthaeschna'' *'' Heliaeschna'' *†'' Idemlinea'' *'' Indaeschna'' *'' Limnetron'' *'' Linaeschna'' *'' Nasiaeschna'' *'' Neuraeschna'' *''

Notoaeschna ''Notoaeschna'' is a genus of dragonflies in the family Aeshnidae, endemic to south-eastern Australia. Species of ''Notoaeschna'' are large, dark brown to black dragonflies with yellow markings. Species The genus ''Notoaeschna'' includes the fo ...

'' *'' Oligoaeschna'' *'' Oplonaeschna'' *'' Oreaeschna'' *'' Periaeschna'' *'' Petaliaeschna'' *''

Pinheyschna ''Pinheyschna'' is the scientific name of a genus of dragonflies from the family Aeshnidae. These relatively large dragonflies are also known as hawkers. Species The genus ''Pinheyschna'' includes the following species: *'' Pinheyschna meruensis ...

'' *'' Planaeschna'' *'' Plattycantha'' *'' Polycanthagyna'' *'' Racenaeschna'' *'' Remartinia'' *''

'' *'' Sarasaeschna'' *'' Spinaeschna'' *'' Staurophlebia'' *'' Telephlebia'' *'' Tetracanthagyna'' *'' Triacanthagyna'' *†'' Ypshna'' *'' Zosteraeschna''

References

*Silsby, Jill (2001). ''Dragonflies of the World''. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.

External links

List of Anisoptera of the World
H {{Authority control Aeshnoidea Odonata of Asia Odonata of Africa Odonata of Australia Odonata of Europe Odonata of Oceania Odonata of North America Odonata of South America Taxa named by William Elford Leach Insects described in 1815 Odonata families Dragonflies

Description

Taxonomy and genera

See also

References

External links