*SHOW British Entomology: Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies: 
illustrated from Lucas and earlier classic works - 11 May 2003. 
 
*CHARACTER LIST 
 
#1. <synonyms:>/
 
#2. <common names:>/
 
#3. <whether specimen male or female:>/
       1. <mature adult> male/
       2. <mature adult> female/
 
#4. adults (front of head to tip of abdomen, including 
    anal appendages)/
       mm long/
 
#5. average wingspan <mid-thorax to wing-tip, X 2; records with an inbuilt
          allowance of +/- 20%, permitting measurements on single specimens to
          be used for interactive identification>/
       mm/
 
#6. hindwings <length>/
       mm long/
 
#7. the <compound> eyes <of adults, insertion and distance apart>/
       1. lateral and widely separated <separated by more than their dorsal
          diameter>/
       2. dorsally narrowly apposed <very close or meeting only at a point>/
       3. dorsally broadly contiguous/
 
#8. the <compound> eyes <of adults, colour>/
       1. grey/
       2. black/
       3. brown/
       4. red/
       5. green/
       6. blue/
 
#9. the front of the head immediately interior to the eyes <colour>/
       1. pale whitish blue/
       2. not pale whitish blue <implicit>/
 
#10. the three ocelli <of adults, arrangement>/
       1. arranged in a triangle <implicit>/
       2. in a row/
 
#11. the narrow black band at the base of the frons <configuration>/
       1. conspicuously continued for some distance down the inner sides of
          the eyes/
       2. only briefly continued down the inner sides of the eyes/
       3. not continued down the inner sides of the eyes/
 
#12. thorax <whether very hairy>/
       1. very hairy/
       2. not very hairy <implicit>/
 
#13. the prothorax <shape>/
       1. <of both sexes> deeply two-cleft posteriorly, resulting in a
          distinctly 3-lobed posterior margin/
       2. <of both sexes> posteriorly more or less entire <no more than
          indistinctly 3-lobed>/
 
#14. legs <colour>/
       1. black/
       2. black and yellow/
       3. black and brown/
       4. black and blue/
       5. pale red/
 
#15. legs <whether red> <<keys only>>/
       1. pale red/
       2. not red <implicit>/
 
#16. hind tibia of adults <whether with a feather-like extension>/
       1. with a conspicuous featherlike expansion/
       2. without a featherlike expansion <implicit>/
 
#17. thoracic antehumeral stripes <of adults, presence>/
       1. present/
       2. absent/
 
#18. thoracic antehumeral stripes <colour>/
       1. greyish/
       2. blue/
       3. violet/
       4. green <or greenish>/
       5. yellow <or yellowish>/
       6. orange/
       7. red/
       8. brown/
 
#19. the <forewings and hind-> wings <posture in repose>/
       1. held vertically in repose/
       2. spread more or less horizontally in repose/
       3. held partly open in repose/
 
#20. the forewings and hindwings <similar or different>/
       1. similar in shape and venation/
       2. dissimilar in shape and venation (the hindwings broadened basally)/
 
#21. the forewings and hindwings <petiolate or sessile>/
       1. petiolate (basally narrowed)/
       2. sessile/
 
#22. the forewings and hindwings <patterning and colouring>/
       1. unpatterned and clear <except for venation and pterostigma>/
       2. suffused with colour at their bases only/
       3. suffused with colour basally and in the leading half/
       4. suffused with colour basally and (in the forewings only) in a patch
          near the cubital point/
       5. colour tinted throughout/
       6. with a sharply defined, dark brown basal fascia/
       7. with a broad, purple-brown to deep blue-violet fascia extending from
          costa to hind margin, and occupying all but their bases and tips/
       8. with a large purplish brown to deep Prussian blue fascia, extending
          from costa to hind margin, and nearer to the apex than the base/
 
#23. the wings tinted <tinted as opposed to fasciated wings, colour>/
       1. amber/
       2. light brown/
       3. dull greenish brown/
       4. dull purplish brown/
 
#24. the inner wing venation <excluding the costa: colouring>/
       1. red/
       2. brown/
       3. blackish/
 
#25. discoidal cell of forewings and hindwings <whether divided into triangle
          and supra-triangle>/
       1. a simple <trapezoid or elongated-rectangular> quadrilateral, not
          longitudinally divided/
       2. divided longitudinally into a conspicuous triangle and
          supra-triangle <sometimes with a subtriangle proximal to the
          former>/
 
#26. the forewings and hindwings exhibiting <number of postquadrilateral
          cells between the quadrilateral (discoidal) cell and the subnodus>/
       postquadrilateral cells between the quadrilateral <discoidal> cell and the subnodus/
 
#27. antenodal veins in the forewings <number>/
 
#28. antenodal veins in the forewings <whether including two obvious
          primaries>/
       1. incorporating two conspicuously stronger primaries, and those in the
          costal and subcostal spaces unaligned/
       2. without distinct primaries, and those in the costal and subcostal
          spaces more or less aligned/
 
#29. pterostigma <presence>/
       1. present <implicit>/
       2. absent/
 
#30. pterostigma <shape>/
       1. more or less isodiametric/
       2. elongated but only about about twice as long as wide/
       3. well over twice but no more than five times as long as wide/
       4. narrow-linear <well over five times as long as wide>/
 
#31. pterostigma <colour>/
       1. black/
       2. dark brown/
       3. reddish brown/
       4. light brown/
       5. yellow/
       6. orange/
       7. red/
       8. white/
       9. pale with a dark centre/
 
#32. the hindwings <number of cell rows distal to the pterostigma>/
       1. with only one row of cells distal to the pterostigma between the
          costa and the radial vein/
       2. with two rows of cells distal to the pterostigma between the costa
          and the radial vein/
 
#33. abdomen <of adults, shape in dorsal view>/
       1. lanceolate (relatively broad, dorsiventrally flattened)/
       2. more or less linear from base to tip/
       3. more or less linear from a conspicuously swollen base <the
          swelling generally involving segments 1-3; sometimes briefly
          constricted immediately behind the basal swelling>/
       4. swollen both basally and distally and markedly constricted in
          between/
 
#34. abdomen <length, including anal appendages>/
       mm long/
 
#35. abdomen predominantly <ground colour>/
       1. grey/
       2. blue/
       3. green/
       4. bronze/
       5. red/
       6. yellow/
       7. brown/
       8. black/
 
#36. abdomen <whether metallic>/
       1. metallic/
       2. non-metallic/
 
#37. abdomen <of adults, patterning>/
       1. plain/
       2. predominantly transversely banded/
       3. predominantly longitudinally lined/
       4. complexly patterned <with bands and/or lines and/or spots>/
 
#38. abdomen <of adults, presence of yellow triangle on segment 2>/
       1. with a conspicuous, median yellow triangle on segment 2/
       2. without a yellow triangle on segment 2 <implicit>/
 
#39. abdomen <of adults, mid-dorsal spots>/
       1. with mid-dorsal spots/
       2. without mid-dorsal spots/
 
#40. abdominal segments 9 and 10 <of adults, markings: for \i{}Aeshna\i0{}
          species>/
       1. exhibiting complete <blue or green> bands/
       2. unbanded, but each with a pair of <blue or green> rounded posterior
          spots/
       3. unbanded, but each with a pair of more or less rectangular <blue or
          green> spots/
       4. neither colour-banded nor colour-spotted/
 
#41. abdominal segment 2 of the male <markings>/
       1. blue, with a black U-shaped dorsal mark which is separated from the
          black circlet behind it <no lateral black lines>/
       2. blue, with a black U-shaped dorsal mark which is joined to the black
          circlet behind it <no lateral black lines>/
       3. blue, with a complex dorsal black Mercury mark <a circle with two
          horns in front, and a strong stem behind joining it to a posterior
          circlet; no lateral black lines>/
       4. blue, with a more or less spear-shaped but variable dorsal black
          mark joined to the black posterior circlet, \i{}and consistently
          exhibiting a black line on either side\i0{}/
       5. blue, with only a broad black band near the middle/
 
#42. the male abdomen <auricles>/
       1. auriculate on segment 2/
       2. without auricles on segment 2/
 
#43. the male abdomen <inferior anal appendages, paired or single>/
       1. with paired inferior anal appendages <and two superior ones>/
       2. with a single inferior anal appendage <and two superior ones>/
 
#44. abdominal segment 8 of the female <presence of ventral spine>/
       1. with a ventral apical spine/
       2. without a ventral apical spine/
 
#45. the <adult> female <presence of conspicuously long ovipositor>/
       1. with a relatively very long ovipositor/
       2. without a long ovipositor <implicit>/
 
#46. the nymphs <build>/
       1. elongate and slender-bodied, gradually tapering posteriorly/
       2. <relatively> stout, the body expanded in the middle/
 
#47. the nymphs when mature, <length, including posterior appendages>/
       mm long/
 
#48. the head of nymphs <spotting>/
       1. with prominent spots/
       2. without prominent spots/
 
#49. the eyes of nymphs <size>/
       1. small <less than half the length of the posterior margin of the
          postocular lobe>/
       2. large <at least half as long as the posterior margin of the
          postocular lobe>/
 
#50. the eyes of nymphs <insertion on the head>/
       1. lateral and widely separated on the top of the head <separated by
          more than their dorsal diameter>/
       2. approaching one another closely at a point on the top of the head/
 
#51. the eyes of nymphs <dorsal flattening>/
       1. markedly flattened dorsally, their posteror margins forming a
          transverse straight line in dorsal view/
       2. convex dorsally, their posterior margins not aligned/
 
#52. the head of nymphs in dorsal view <shape>/
       1. markedly narrowing <the postocular lobes sloping inwards> from
          immediately behind the eyes/
       2. not markedly narrowing from immediately behind the eyes/
 
#53. the postocular lobes of nymphs <shape>/
       1. curving smoothly to the back of the head from immediately behind the
          eyes/
       2. curving sharply to the back of the head from some distance behind
          the eyes <with a more or less marked latero-posterior bulge>/
 
#54. the antennae of nymphs <numbers of segments>/
       segmented/
 
#55. the antennae of nymphs <elongation of the scape (first segment)>/
       1. with the scape <first segment> as long as the other segments taken
          together/
       2. with the scape considerably shorter than the other segments taken
          together/
 
#56. the antennae of nymphs <relative length of first flagellar segment>/
       1. with the first flagellar segment <segment3> shorter than the pedicel
          <segment 2>/
       2. with the first flagellar segment longer than the pedicel/
 
#57. the mask of nymphs <shape>/
       1. abruptly narrowed well before the hinge, with the prementum stalked
          <ladle-shaped>/
       2. narrowed gradually to the hinge <often more or less triangular>/
 
#58. the prementum of nymphs <length relative to front width>/
       1. quite elongated, being nearly twice as long as the width of its
          front/
       2. relatively short, being much less than twice as long as its front
          width/
 
#59. the mask of nymphs <spoon-shaped or flat>/
       1. having the prementum hollowed dorsally <spoon-shaped, covering the
          face>/
       2. with a flat prementum/
 
#60. the mask of nymphs <cleft of prementum>/
       1. with a wide median cleft extending half the length of the prementum/
       2. with a short slit-like median cleft/
       3. with the median lobe of the prementum shortly apiculate and bifid/
       4. without a median cleft <and prementum not apiculate-bifid>/
 
#61. the cleft in the prementum of the nymphs <width>/
       1. less than four times as long as its maximum width/
       2. more than four time as long as its maximum width/
 
#62. the prementum of the mask of nymphs bearing <number of setae>/
       major setae/
 
#63. the body of the labial palps of nymphs bearing <number of major setae>/
       major setae/
 
#64. the outer margins of the labial palps of nymphs <whether armed with
          small spines>/
       1. armed with small spines/
       2. without spines/
 
#65. distal margins of the labial palps of nymphs <incision>/
       1. <more or less> entire <smooth>/
       2. crenate/
       3. finely toothed/
       4. coarsely toothed/
 
#66. the moveable hooks of the labial palps of nymphs <number of setae>/
       1. without setae <dubiously implicit>/
       2. with two setae/
       3. with three or more setae/
 
#67. legs of the nymph <relative length>/
       1. shorter than the abdomen/
       2. longer than the abdomen/
 
#68. the apical combs of the tibiae of nymphs <form of setae>/
       1. mainly of bifurcated setae/
       2. mainly of trifurcated setae/
       3. of spinate <unbranched?> setae/
 
#69. fore- and middle tarsi of the nymph <number of segments>/
       1. 2-segmented/
       2. 3-segmented/
 
#70. the abdomen of nymphs <presence of three caudal gills or five spine-like
          appendages>/
       1. terminating in three conspicuous caudal <lamellate> gills/
       2. terminating in five short spine-like appendages <when not spread,
          constituting the armed anal pyramid protecting the rectal gills
          and anus; comprising a median dorsal appendix dorsalis, paired
          ventro-lateral paraprocts or cerci, and paired dorso-lateral
          paraprocts or cercoids>/
 
#71. the three caudal appendages of zygopteran nymphs <whether all lamellar>/
       1. all lamellar/
       2. comprising a lamellar median and three-edged laterals/
 
#72. the caudal lamellae of nymphs <shape in outline>/
       1. oval (broadest in the middle, symmetrically curved)/
       2. lanceolate or ovate: broader and more strongly curved below the
          middle/
       3. oblanceolate or obovate: broader and more strongly curved beyond
          the middle/
 
#73. the caudal lamellae of nymphs <shape of tip>/
       1. blunt/
       2. pointed/
 
#74. the caudal lamellae of nymphs <colouring>/
       1. hyaline without coloured markings/
       2. with transverse dark bands/
       3. patterned beyond the middle with conspicuous a dark cross/
       4. mottled with brown/
       5. spotted/
 
#75. the caudal lamellae of nymphs <occurrence of marginal setae>/
       1. hairy on both margins to beyond the middle/
       2. with one margin hairless beyond the middle, the other hairy to
          nearer the apex/
 
#76. the caudal lamellae <of nymphs, whether exhibiting nodes>/
       1. nodate, with the marginal hairs coarser proximally to the node and
          finer beyond it/
       2. without nodes, and with no clear demarcation between proximal and
          distal series of marginal hairs/
 
#77. the caudal lamellae of nymphs <tracheal branching pattern>/
       1. with the primary tracheal branches departing more or less at right
          angles to the main trunk, themselves branching only near the margin/
       2. with much-branched primary tracheal branches leaving the main trunk
          at an upward angle/
 
#78. the cerci of nymphs <relative length>/
       1. more than half the length of the paraprocts/
       2. no more than hald the length of the paraprocts/
 
#79. the abdomen of nymphs <whether with mid-dorsal spines>/
       1. with mid-dorsal spines/
       2. without mid-dorsal spines <dubiously implicit>/
 
#80. the mid-dorsal abdominal spines of nymphs <distribution>/
       1. prominent on segments 3 to 8/
       2. prominent on segments 3 to 6/
       3. prominent on segments 4 to 8/
       4. prominent on segments 4 to 7/
       5. prominent on segments 4 to 9/
       6. prominent on segments 4 to 6/
       7. prominent on segments 5 to 8/
       8. prominent on segments 5 to 7 only, but sometimes a vestigial one on
          segment 8/
       9. prominent on segments 6 to 8 only/
 
#81. the abdomen of nymphs <mid-dorsal spine on segment 8>/
       1. with a prominent mid-dorsal spine on segment 8/
       2. without a mid-dorsal spine on segment 8/
 
#82. the ventral surface of the abdomen of nymphs <banding>/
       1. with distictive dark longitudinal bands/
       2. without distictive markings/
 
#83. the gizzard of nymphs <number of folds>/
       1. with 4-8 folds/
       2. with 8-16 radially symmetrical folds/
 
#84. <distribution:>/
       1. northern Scotland/
       2. southern Scotland/
       3. northern England/
       4. English Midlands/
       5. East Anglia/
       6. Wales/
       7. southeast England/
       8. central southern England/
       9. southwest England/
       10. Isle of Wight/
       11. Ireland/
 
#85. <distribution - Britain/Ireland:> <<keys only>>/
       1. Britain <England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Channel Islands>/
       2. Ireland <including Northern Ireland>/
 
#86. \i{}Britain\i0{}: <distribution in the vice counties of Britain (see
          'Notes'):> <<keys only>>/
       1. West Cornwall/
       2. East Cornwall/
       3. South Devon/
       4. North Devon/
       5. South Somerset/
       6. North Somerset/
       7. North Wiltshire/
       8. South Wiltshire/
       9. Dorset/
       10. Isle of Wight/
       11. South Hampshire/
       12. North Hampshire/
       13. West Sussex/
       14. East Sussex/
       15. East Kent/
       16. West Kent/
       17. Surrey/
       18. South Essex/
       19. North Essex/
       20. Hertfordshire/
       21. Middlesex/
       22. Berkshire/
       23. Oxfordshire/
       24. Buckinghamshire/
       25. East Suffolk/
       26. West Suffolk/
       27. East Norfolk/
       28. West Norfolk/
       29. Cambridgeshire/
       30. Bedfordshire/
       31. Huntingdonshire/
       32. Northamptonshire/
       33. East Gloucestershire/
       34. West Gloucestershire/
       35. Monmouthshire/
       36. Herefordshire/
       37. Worcestershire/
       38. Warwickshire/
       39. Staffordshire/
       40. Shropshire/
       41. Glamorgan/
       42. Breconshire/
       43. Radnorshire/
       44. Carmarthenshire <Caerfyrddyn>/
       45. Pembrokeshire/
       46. Cardiganshire <Ceredigion>/
       47. Montgomeryshire/
       48. Merionethshire <Meirionydd>/
       49. Caernarvonshire <Caernarfon>/
       50. Denbighshire/
       51. Flintshire/
       52. Anglesey/
       53. South Lincolnshire/
       54. North Lincolnshire/
       55. Leicestershire <with Rutland>/
       56. Nottinghamshire/
       57. Derbyshire/
       58. Cheshire/
       59. South Lancashire/
       60. West Lancashire/
       61. South-east Yorkshire/
       62. North-east Yorkshire/
       63. South-west Yorkshire/
       64. Mid-west Yorkshire/
       65. North-west Yorkshire/
       66. Durham/
       67. South Northumberland/
       68. North Northumberland <Cheviot>/
       69. Westmorland <with North Lancashire>/
       70. Cumberland/
       71. Isle of Man/
       72. Dumfriesshire/
       73. Kirkcudbrightshire/
       74. Wigtownshire/
       75. Ayrshire/
       76. Renfrewshire/
       77. Lanarkshire/
       78. Peeblesshire/
       79. Selkirkshire/
       80. Roxburghshire/
       81. Berwickshire/
       82. East Lothian <Haddington>/
       83. Midlothian <Edinburgh>/
       84. West Lothian <Linlithgow>/
       85. Fifeshire <with Kinross>/
       86. Stirlingshire/
       87. West Perthshire <with Clackmannan>/
       88. Mid Perthshire/
       89. East Perthshire/
       90. Angus <Forfar>/
       91. Kincardineshire/
       92. South Aberdeenshire/
       93. North Aberdeenshire/
       94. Banffshire/
       95. Moray <Elgin>/
       96. East Inverness-shire <with Nairn>/
       97. West Inverness-shire/
       98. Argyll Main/
       99. Dunbartonshire/
       100. Clyde Isles/
       101. Kintyre/
       102. South Ebudes/
       103. Mid Ebudes/
       104. North Ebudes/
       105. West Ross/
       106. East Ross/
       107. East Sutherland/
       108. West Sutherland/
       109. Caithness/
       110. Outer Hebrides/
       111. Orkney islands/
       112. Shetland <Zetland>/
       113. Channel Islands/
 
#87. \i{}Ireland\i0{}: <distribution in the vice counties of Ireland (see
          'Notes'):> <<keys only>>/
       1. South Kerry/
       2. North Kerry/
       3. West Cork/
       4. Mid Cork/
       5. East Cork/
       6. Waterford/
       7. South Tipperary/
       8. Limerick/
       9. Clare/
       10. North Tipperary/
       11. Kilkenny/
       12. Wexford/
       13. Carlow/
       14. Leix <Queen's County>/
       15. South-east Galway/
       16. West Galway/
       17. North-east Galway/
       18. Offaly <King's County>/
       19. Kildare/
       20. Wicklow/
       21. Dublin/
       22. Meath/
       23. West Meath/
       24. Longford/
       25. Roscommon/
       26. East Mayo/
       27. West Mayo/
       28. Sligo/
       29. Leitrim/
       30. Cavan/
       31. Louth/
       32. Monaghan/
       33. Fermanagh/
       34. East Donegal/
       35. West Donegal/
       36. Tyrone/
       37. Armagh/
       38. Down/
       39. Antrim/
       40. Londonderry/
 
#88. adults on the wing <months>/
       1. late April/
       2. early May/
       3. late may/
       4. early June/
       5. late June/
       6. early July/
       7. late July/
       8. early August/
       9. late August/
       10. early September/
       11. late September/
       12. early October/
       13. late October/
       14. early November/
 
#89. <suborder>/
       1. Zygoptera/
       2. Anisoptera/
 
#90. family/
       1. \i{}Platycnemididae\i0{}/
       2. \i{}Coenagriidae\i0{} <\i{}Agrionidae\i0{}>/
       3. \i{}Lestidae\i0{}/
       4. \i{}Agriidae\i0{} <Calopterigidae>/
       5. \i{}Gomphidae\i0{}/
       6. \i{}Cordulegasteridae\i0{}/
       7. \i{}Aeshnidae\i0{} <\i{}Aeschnidae\i0{}>/
       8. \i{}Corduliidae\i0{}/
       9. \i{}Libellulidae\i0{}/
 
#91. <general comments:>/
 
#92. abbreviated taxon name:/
 
#93. <illustrations:>/

