{{Short description|Species of dragonfly}} {{more footnotes|date=December 2025}} {{Speciesbox | name = Broad-bodied chaser | image = Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) male dorsal side.jpg | image_caption = male<br>Wolvercote Lakes, Oxfordshire | image2 = Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) female.jpg | image2_caption = female<br>Otmoor, Oxfordshire | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |last1=Kalkman |first1=V.J. |year=2014 |title=''Libellula depressa'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T165531A19167508 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T165531A19167508.en |access-date=3 February 2026}}</ref> | taxon = Libellula depressa | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 }}
'''''Libellula depressa''''', the '''broad-bodied chaser''' is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.
== Identification == This insect is around 39–48 mm in length, with both the male and the female having a broad, flattened abdomen which is brown with yellow patches down the sides. In the male, the abdomen develops a blue pruinosity that covers the brown colour. Both fore and hind wings have a dark patch at the base.<ref name="TheDrag"/> Both the male and female have broad antehumeral stripes. The average wingspan is approximately 70 mm. ''L. depressa'' is very distinctive and is not easily confused with any other dragonflies in the region.
{{Multiple image | align = center | header = Variation in juveniles and adults | width1 = | image1 = | caption1 = | width2 = | image2 = 2016.06.10.-04-Kirschgartshaeuser Schlaege Mannheim--Plattbauch-junges Maennchen.jpg | caption2 = Juvenile male | width3 = | image3 = Depressa P075759 Noushka02.jpg | caption3 = maturing male | width4 = | image4 = Plattbauch braun4.jpg | caption4 = Old female; much darker than the young female | total_width = 550 }} {{clear left}}
==Distribution and habitat== ''L. depressa'' is found in central and southern Europe, central Asia and the Middle East. Its range extends northwards throughout England and Wales and into southern Scotland, southern Sweden and southern Finland. and it occurs on some Mediterranean islands including Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Menorca. Historically its range did not extend into Scotland, but it has colonised north there in recent decades.<ref name="BDS">{{cite web |title=Broad-bodied Chaser |website=British Dragonfly Society |date=2023-08-02 |url=https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/broad-bodied-chaser/ |access-date=2026-03-20}}</ref> It is not found in Ireland or North Africa.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaEgAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA392 |page=392 |title=World Catalogue of Odonata II: Anisoptera |author=Henrik Steinmann |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2013|isbn=978-3-11-082444-5 }}</ref><ref name="TheDrag">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_ZNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=The Dragonflies of Europe |author=R.R. Askew |publisher=BRILL |year=2021|isbn=978-90-04-47438-3 }}</ref><ref name="BDS"/>
''L. depressa'' is seen near still-water lakes and ponds, feeding on many types of small insects. They occur in both bare and sunny locations, where it is often the first dragonfly to colonise new habitats such as newly created ponds, and well vegetated ponds.<ref name="BDS"/> ''L. depressa'' are often seen away from water as the adults are very mobile and undergo a period of maturation away from water after emergence. The adults are also migratory.
==Behaviour==
thumb|Hunting and returning to a favoured perch thumb|young adult female ovipositing
The flight period is from April to September but are mostly seen in May and June. Their flight is very fast as they dart and dive above the water. They are very territorial and will fight with rival males and any other dragonflies they happen to encounter. They characteristically return to a favoured perch, in the sun. When a female enters a male's territory the male will fly up and grab the female. Mating occurs on the wing and the pair are in tandem for only a brief period, often less than a minute. The pair separate and the female will find a suitable location for ovipositing, usually a stretch of open water with submerged vegetation. The female oviposits in flight, hovering above the water and dipping the tip of her abdomen in. The eggs hatch in 4 or 5 weeks and the larvae take one to two years to develop. The larvae live in the silt and detritus at the bottom of the pond, lying buried in mud with just the head and eyes showing. After emergence the adults move away from water and undergo a period of maturation which lasts 10 to 14 days.
{{Multiple image | width = 150 | align = center | header = Emergence of the imago | image1 = Libellula.depressa.nymph.on.land.jpg | caption1 = Nymph | image2 = Libellula.depressa.emerging.adult.1.jpg | caption2 = | image3 = Libellula.depressa.emerging.adult.2.jpg | caption3 = | image4 = Libellula.depressa.emerging.adult.3.jpg | caption4 = | image5 = Libellula.depressa.emerging.adult.4.jpg | caption5 = Newly emerged adult }}
==Systematics== ''Libellula depressa'' is the type species of the genus ''Libellula'', designated by William Forsell Kirby in 1889.<ref name="Kirby">{{cite journal |last=Kirby |first=William Forsell |title=XIII. A Revision of the Subfamily Libellulinae, with Descriptions of New Genera and Species |journal=Transactions of the Zoological Society of London |publisher=Published for the Zoological Society of London by Academic Press |volume=v.12 (1886-1890) |date=1890 |issn=0084-5620 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31019681 |access-date=2026-03-20 |page=284}}</ref> Consequently, the suggestion, based on RNA and DNA analysis, that this species should be placed within the genus ''Ladona''<ref name="Artiss">{{Cite journal | author1 = Thomas Artiss | author2 = Ted R. Schultz | author3 = Dan A. Polhemus | author4 = Chris Simon | author4-link = Chris Simon (biologist)| title = Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the dragonfly genera ''Libellula'', ''Ladona'', and ''Plathemis'' (Odonata: Libellulidae) based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and 16S rRNA sequence data | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 18 | issue = 3 | pages = 348–361 | year = 2001 | url = http://kingfish.coastal.edu/biology/bio451/papers/Artiss%20et%20al.%20(2001)%20Libellulid%20phylogeny.pdf | pmid = 11277629 | doi = 10.1006/mpev.2000.0867 | bibcode = 2001MolPE..18..348A | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091601/http://kingfish.coastal.edu/biology/bio451/papers/Artiss%20et%20al.%20(2001)%20Libellulid%20phylogeny.pdf | archivedate = 2007-09-29 }}</ref> is not valid under the principle of priority.
==See also== * Libellulidae * List of British dragonflies
==References== {{reflist}} * Askew, R. R. (2004) The Dragonflies of Europe. (revised ed.) Harley Books. {{ISBN|0-946589-75-5}} * Boudot J. P., ''et al''. (2009) Atlas of the Odonata of the Mediterranean and North Africa. ''Libellula'' Supplement 9: 1–256. * d'Aguilar, J., Dommanget, J. L., and Prechac, R. (1986) A field guide to the Dragonflies of Britain, Europe and North Africa. Collins. pp336. {{ISBN|0-00-219436-8}} * Dijkstra, K.-D. B & Lewington, R. (2006) Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. British Wildlife Publishing. {{ISBN|0-9531399-4-8}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Libellula depressa|''Libellula depressa''}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q302485}}
depressa Category:Dragonflies of Europe Category:Odonata of Asia Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Insects described in 1758 Category:Articles containing video clips