Balkan Goldenring (Cordulegaster heros)
• English name: Balkan Goldenring
• German name: Grosse Quelljungfer
• French name: N/A
• Dutch name: Balkanbronlibel
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Guardaruscello balcanico
• Czech name: páskovec velký
• Slovenian name: Veliki studenčar
• Bulgarian name: Балканско воденичарче
Balkan Goldenring (Cordulegaster heros)
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | ➤ a very large black-and-yellow species which occurs in Austria, north-east Italy, the Balkans and Greece | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Cordulegastridae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Near Threatened, Endemic | |
| Scientific name | • Cordulegaster heros Theischinger, 1979 | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • small rivers and streams | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 77-96 mm; hindwing: 45-58 mm | |
| Notes | ➤ for an overview of the differences between the species in the boltonii and the bidentata groups, tap or click here | |
| • the female lays her eggs by thrusting her abdomen repeatedly into wet mud, moss, etc. | ||
| • two species of the boltonii group very rarely co-occur at the same site; therefore if two Cordulegaster species co-occur, they very probably belong to different groups | ||
| • C. heros is noticeably bigger and darker than C. helladica with which it co-occurs (e.g. on the Peloponnese) | ||
| Both sexes | Head | • the eyes are green (brown in immature animals) |
| • the occipital triangle is black | ||
| Thorax | • the thorax is black with three yellow bands; the middle band is relatively well-developed | |
| Male | Abdomen | • each upper appendage bears one tooth on the underside (rather than two, as in the species of the bidentata group) |
| Photographs | • all of our photos below were made on the Peloponnese in 2010 and 2015 and show the subspecies C. h. pelionensis |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen in dorsal view, and the male's head, thorax and abdomen in lateral view.
The boltonii group (left) and the bidentata group (right)
The former comprises C. boltonii, trinacriae, heros and picta.
The latter comprises C. bidentata, insignis and helladica.
In the boltonii group, note:
1. thorax: the middle band is (relatively) well developed,
2. upper appendages: close at base, then diverging, curved
(as opposed to separated at the base, then straight),
3. S1: the yellow spot sits at the bottom edge
(as opposed to the upper segment portion), and
4. anal triangle: typically five (as opposed to three) cells.
