Portret Een juffer... maar toch zo anders: de Orientjuffer (Epallage fatime)

Epallage fatime is the only member of the genus Epallage, and in Europe it is unique for the family Euphaeidae. The species can be found in south-eastern Europe, where it lives in rocky streams and rivers. The adult male is blue in coloration, the female black with blue dots and a black, yellow-striped thorax. The larvae are unique within the European dragonfly-fauna. Instead of leaf-like procts, it has balloon-shaped appendages. For respiration, the gills on the underside of the abdomen are more important than the procts, which occurs rarely in dragonflies around the world. The body of the larva is flattened. It lives underneath rocks in fast-flowing waters and is incredibly difficult to find.