Large Pincertail

Habitat: Clear streams and rivers with a sandy to gravelly bed.

Appearance: Its range is restricted to south-western Europe, where it occurs from the Iberian Peninsula to central and western France and north-western Italy. Very rare in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Flying season: July to August.

Characteristics: Length 50–53 mm, wingspan 60–75 mm.

Life cycle: The female lays her eggs in the water. The larvae live burrowed into the stream bed. As the larval development is highly dependent on water temperature, this stage usually lasts 3 to 5 years. Once the larva is fully grown, it crawls out of the water in early summer. The larva climbs onto a stem, a boulder or the bank to moult for the final time. As it does so, the adult dragonfly emerges from the old larval skin.