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 |