Domestic dragonflies - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1991 - 60 Pfennig

Branch-striped mantis (Cordulegaster boltonii Donovan, 1807) is the more well-known of the two German mollusc species (Cordulegastridae family). With 85 mm body length of the female it is one of the three largest dragonfly species in Europe. Source maidens are striking black-yellow-drawn large dragonflies with bright green eyes that only touch at one point in the middle of the head. The females have a stiletto-shaped laying tube that towers over the abdomen. The branch-striped marmoset differs from the other central European species by two yellow transverse bands on the middle abdomen segments. Cordulegaster boltonii lives on mountain streams and sandy lowland streams with clear, pure water. It is locally represented mainly in the low mountain ranges, but also occurs in the Alps and rarely in the North German Plain - also a highly endangered species. The females stab with their Legescheide the eggs in the sandy to muddy underground of the waters. In cold mountain streams, the overall development requires 3 to 5 years. The larvae are buried in the creek. Flight time: early June to late August. The four species of dragonfly depicted in this stamp series belong to the great dragonflies (Suborder Anisoptera), which are characterized by the unequal shape of the two wing pairs and the very large eyes.