Aeschna

Aeschna

 

(Russian, koromyslo), a genus of dragonflies of the family Aeschnidae. The brightly colored body is up to 7 cm long, and the wingspread up to 10 cm. A. grandis is rusty-red; A. cyanea and A. junca are various shades of blue. The large shiny eyes touch each other at the back of the head. These dragonflies are found almost all over the world. They fly swiftly and fitfully. They are predators and feed on insects, including such harmful ones as mosquitoes, buffalo gnats, flies, and some butterflies. The larvae are also predators and live in water; sometimes they interfere with pond-breeding of carp by eating the fry. The Russian word koromyslo is also the popular term for all large dragonflie.