Boyeria cretensis

• English name: Cretan Spectre
• German name: Kretische Geisterlibelle
• French name: N/A
• Dutch name: Kretaschemerlibel
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: N/A
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: N/A
• Bulgarian name: N/A

Boyeria cretensis

Not present

Present before 1990

Present after 1990

Present before and after 1990

Present after 2015

Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies

General		➤ a very large species which occurs only on the island of Crete; very similar to B. irene
Classification		• suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Aeshnidae
Conservation status		• IUCN Red List Europe: Endangered, Endemic
Scientific name		• Boyeria cretensis Peters, 1991
Distribution		• click or tap the Map button above
Habitat		• streams and rivers with plants and trees whose roots are directly over the water
Dimensions		• typical body length: 69-71 mm; hindwing: 44-47 mm
Notes		• males zigzag low over the water, meticulously checking every nook and cranny in the river bank for ovipositing females
		• aeshnids are 'fliers': they spend a lot of time on the wing and seldom hang up for a rest
		• because of their perfectly camouflaged colouration of brown, green and beige, animals at rest may be difficult to spot
		• when they do rest, they hang up on large, shady, vertical surfaces (e.g. tree trunks and rocks) which match their colouration, or on twigs and branches with overhanging leaves; in either case direct sunlight is carefully avoided
Both sexes	Head	• the eyes are green
	Thorax	➤ the colouration on the thorax is a mix of mottled browns and greens
	Abdomen	➤ the colouration on the abdomen is a mix of mottled browns and greens
		• the abdomen is heavily waisted on S3
	Wings	• mature animals may have dark patches on the wing tips
Male	Abdomen	• S9 and S10 are unmarked green (in mature males) or beige-brown (in immature males)
Female	Abdomen	• the females we have photographed to date all had short appendages (form: brachycerca)
Photographs		• all of our photos below were made on Crete in 2010 and 2015