For the Australian moth species with this common name, see Prasinocyma rhodocosma.

The northern emerald (Somatochlora arctica) is a middle-sized species of dragonfly first described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1840. The male can be recognised by its pincer-like appendages and its narrow-waisted body. The female has distinctive orange-yellow spots on (only) the third segment of the abdomen.

This species lives in bogs and lays its eggs in very small water-filled depressions. It hunts between trees and avoids open spaces.

In Great Britain, it is only present in north-western Scotland and is confined to the south-western part of Ireland.[2] It is present in all of northern Eurasia. In Western Europe, it is present in alpine areas and wherever a suitable habitat can be found. It is found in the Rila mountains of Bulgaria.

References

  1. ^ Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. (2023). "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral, University of Alabama. Retrieved 14 Mar 2023.
  2. ^ "Somatochlora arctica - Northern Emerald". British Dragonfly Society. 2011-05-28.