Fyrfläckad trollslända
(Libellula quadrimaculata)

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The Four-Spotted Chaser is called so because of the dark patches on the node of each wing. In a sense, it's a misleading name in that some immature animals (of a form called praenubila) have an additional (and even larger) dark patch near the tip of each wing. In any case, Libellula quadrimaculata is a common and widespread species which occurs throughout Europe (although it's rare in the South-East). It's a fairly large species whose main distinguishing features include the tapering shape of the abdomen, the orange-brown colour of the abdomen with bright-yellow patches laterally (only in mature females does the colour of the abdomen change to a much duller dark brown), the dark patch at the base of the hind wing, and - obviously - the aforementioned dark patches on the wing nodes.

For an overview of the Four-Spotted Chaser's distribution in Europe, hover your mouse pointer over the map symbol European distribution.
With the authors' permission we have based this map on data published in Kalkman et al. (2010).

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Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - male. PhotoID: Dr388. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - male. PhotoID: Dr389. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr390. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr395. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - male. PhotoID: Dr396.
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Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr397. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr398. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr399. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - immature female. PhotoID: Dr400. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - female. PhotoID: Dr401.
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Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - male. PhotoID: Dr402. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - male. PhotoID: Dr406. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - male. PhotoID: Dr418. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - male. PhotoID: Dr496. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - female. PhotoID: Dr501.
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Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr502. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - male. PhotoID: Dr503. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - male. PhotoID: Dr504. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - female. PhotoID: Dr505. Four-Spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata f. praenubila) - female. PhotoID: Dr506.