Epitheca bimaculata

Epitheca bimaculata, the Eurasian baskettail^[1] or two-spotted dragonfly, is a species of dragonfly. It was described by Toussaint de Charpentier in 1825 and initially placed in the genus Libellula. It is the type species of the genus Epitheca.

Epitheca bimaculata
Male and female
Photographed in Lithuania
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Infraorder:	Anisoptera
Family:	Corduliidae
Genus:	Epitheca
Species:	E. bimaculata
Binomial name
Epitheca bimaculata (Charpentier, 1825)
Synonyms
Libellula bimaculata Charpentier, 1825[2]

Distribution

Its habitat ranges from Western France to Japan and eastern Siberia.^[1]

It has been found in Western Europe, but here it is "rare and seen very irregularly".^[3] It has also been found in Serbia,^[4] and Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.^[5] Its occurrence in Hungary is "sporadic".^[6] It also is found in Ukraine.^[7]

Biology

It flies in May and June.^[7]

Former subspecies

Two subspecies were recognized, but they were synonymized in 2004:^[8]

• Epitheca bimaculata sibirica (Selys, 1887)^[9]
• Epitheca bimaculata altaica Belyshev, 1951

References

1. Boudot, J.-P. (2020). "Epitheca bimaculata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T165482A140524274. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T165482A140524274.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. de Charpentier, Toussaint (1825), "Libellula bimaculata", Horae Entomologicae: Adjectis tabulis novem coloratis, Wratislavia: A. Gosohorsky, pp. 43–44
3. Martens, K. (1982). "New localities for Epitheca bimaculata (Charp.), with a review of its status in Western Europe (Anisoptera: Corduliidae)". Notulae Odonatologicae. 1 (10): 157–159.
4. Jović, Miloš; Andjus, Ljiljana; Santovac, Svetozar (2009). "New data on some rare and poorly known Odonata species in Serbia" (PDF). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. 2: 102–103. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
5. Buczyński, Paweł; Shapoval, Anatoly P.; Buczyńska, Edyta (2014). "Pantala flavescens at the coast of the Baltic Sea (Odonata: Libellulidae)" (PDF). Odonatologica. 43 (1/2): 5.
6. Jakab, T.; Müller, Z.; Dévai, Gy.; Tóthmérész, B. (2002). "Dragonfly assemblages of a shallow lake type reservoir (Tisza-tó, Hungary) and its surroundings" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 48 (3): 165.
7. Khrokalo, L. A.; Sheshurak, P. M. (2006). "Flight Seasonality of Dragonflies (Insecta, Odonata) in Northeastern Ukraine". Vestnik Zoologii. 40 (2): 148.
8. Kosterin, O. E. (2004). "Odonata of the Daurskiy State Nature Reserve area, Transbaikalia, Russia". Odonatologica. 33 (1): 56–57.
9. de Selys-Longchamps, [E.] (1887). "Odonates de l'Asie Mineure, et révision de ceux de autres parties de faune paléarctique (dite européenne)". Annales de la Société entomologique de Belgique. 31: 59.

Further reading

• de Charpentier, Toussaint (1840). Libellulinae europaeae descriptae ac depictae. Lipsia: Leopold Voss. pp. 10, 22, 57–58, 175.
• Steinmann, Henrik (1997). "Genus Epitheca Burmeister". World Catalogue of Odonata II. The Animal Kingdom. Vol. 111. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 255–256. doi:10.1515/9783110824445.250. ISBN 9783110824445.