![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() What would you like to see the science focus on next in this field? While writing this book I discovered that in spite of collecting lots of data and information, we, and in particular myself, still know very little about Australian dragonflies! What part can citizen science play in this field?Ĭitizen Science can play an important role in documenting fresh water bodies and their surroundings, to keep the habitats of our dragonflies as clean and undisturbed as possible. Was there anything new you learned while writing this book? It is my hope that education plus experience will in time be able to create enough reason and healthy useful fear to avoid catastrophic outcomes. (Photo: Fons Peels)ĭo you have any concerns about dragonfly biodiversity and conservation?ĭamage caused by humans through overpopulation, greed, global warming and political conflicts is the greatest danger not only to dragonfly diversity and conservation, but also to a worthwhile survival of our own species. Commonly called the Balkan Goldenring, this is the largest dragonfly species in Europe, and was first described by Günther Theischinger. However, time and DNA have shown it to be real, and Cordulegaster heros is now known to occur over much of central and south-east Europe.Ĭordulegaster heros (male). The discovery was even described as “like an exploding bomb within the community of European odonatologists”. After the necessary literature research was completed, the material from Greece and other specimens collected near Vienna and Graz in Austria were described as Cordulegaster heros, a species new to science.įor a while it was difficult for some of Europe’s dragonfly specialists to believe that the largest European species was not recognized for so long, and was “on their doorstep”. It was only in 1978, on my family’s last European holiday before emigrating to Australia, that it struck me that the Cordulegaster material collected by us in Greece belonged to a hitherto undescribed species. ![]() It inhabits clear, fast-flowing streams, and its presence indicates excellent water quality.Įven though specimens were available in museum collections for well over 100 years, they all were misidentified by top specialists as several different species. The body of the beautiful green-eyed species is black tiger-like patterned with bright yellow. The female of the species is, measured by the product of wingspan and total length (120 x 100 mm), the largest dragonfly of Europe. My favourite dragonfly is not an Australian species, but rather the ‘Balkan Goldenring’ ( Cordulegaster heros). (Photo: Fons Peels)ĭo you have a favourite dragonfly species? Commonly called the Broad-bodied Chaser, this is a common dragonfly in Europe and a species fondly remembered from Günther’s childhood in Austria. The book was bought in the morning, and my chasing, studying and collecting of dragonflies started the same afternoon and really has not stopped ever since. In 1963, I discovered in the window of a bookshop Schiemenz’s Die Libellen unserer Heimat (‘The Dragonflies of Our Homeland’). I collected butterflies and moths for 15 years, but was still interested in dragonflies. These pools were often frequented by very impressive large blue dragonflies, males of the ‘Broad-bodied Chaser’ ( Libellula depressa). How did your interest in dragonflies and damselflies begin?įreshwater pools near my childhood home in Austria fascinated me already at five years of age. We asked renowned odonatologist Günther Theischinger – co-author of the second edition of The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia – to tell us all about how his passion for dragonflies and damselflies started, and some of his favourite stories from the field. (Photo: Cheryl Tang) Often brightly coloured or strikingly patterned, it is easy to become enamored with the alien beauty of dragonflies, and the way they flit and fly or perch on plants. Günther ready to sample dragonfly larvae in polluted water. ![]()
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