Eastern Spectre (Caliaeschna microstigma) | Species | ||||||||
 (1/400th sec at f13. Click image for larger version. © David Hastings) DescriptionWing span: 70 - 82mm; Body length: 50 - 60mm A small, sleek aeshnid, named for its unusually short pterostigma. It also has distinctively hooked antehumeral stripes. Males are brown/black with crisp blue markings. Females are browner, with more yellowish markings. It is found in the southern Balkans, Greece and Turkey, and east to Afghanistan. Its habitat is streams, which are often fast-flowing and shaded. Adults are on the wing from mid-May to August. Males have a low, slow patrolling flight, closely following the streamside. They avoid sunlight, and are often active into dusk. Sightings
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