Brachythemis leucosticta | |
---|---|
Male, Okavango Delta, Botswana | |
Female, uMkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Odonata |
Infraorder: | Anisoptera |
Family: | Libellulidae |
Genus: | Brachythemis |
Species: | B. leucosticta |
Binomial name | |
Brachythemis leucosticta (Burmeister, 1839) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Libellula leucostictaBurmeister, 1839 |
Brachythemis leucosticta, the banded groundling or Southern banded groundling, is a species of dragonfly belonging to the family Libellulidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Brachythemis leucosticta was first formally described as Libellula leucosticta in 1839 by the German entomologist Hermann Burmeister with its type locality designated as Port Natal. It was long considered that there was a single species, the banded groundling, but in 2009 they were split into two species; the Southern banded groundling (B. leucosticta) and the Northern Banded Groundling ( B. impartita ) with a wide area of overlap in central Africa. [3]
Brachythemis leucosticta is a small species of dragonfly with a length of up to 33 mm (1.3 in) and a wingspan of up to 57 mm (2.2 in). The males have a completely black abdomen and thorax, pterostigmata which are bicoloured including yellow, a very dark brown or blackish band near the tip of each wing and a black face and eyes. The females have a yellow and black thorax and abdomen the colour becoming less bright in older individuals and they have brown banded eyes. [4]
Brachythemis leucosticta is found in East and Central Africa, [4] and its presence has been confirmed in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It may also occur in Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Sudan and Sudan. [1] In South Africa it is found in the northern and eastern parts and is largely absent from the Cape region with a few scattered records in the Eastern Cape and a single record from the Western Cape. [5] It is found round small pools in open or savannah area, these pools may or may not have aquatic or emergent vegetation. The females and young males may be encountered some distance from water. [6]
Brachythemis leucosticta prefers to be on or near the ground and will sit in the open. It is a tame species which often follows larger animals, including humans, catching small insects flushed by the larger animals as they walk through the grass. They are rather sociable and gather in mixed sex aggregations. In South Africa the adults are most active between September and May but in more tropical areas the adults are active throughout the year. [4]
Pantala flavescens, the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider, is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet with good population on every continent except Antarctica although rare in Europe. Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km ; to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km —one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
Brachythemis is a genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. They are commonly known as groundlings.
Brachythemis lacustris is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, and intermittent rivers.
Chalcostephia is a monotypic genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae containing the single species Chalcostephia flavifrons. It is known by the common names yellowface and inspector. It is native to central Africa, where it has a widespread distribution. This dragonfly lives in swampy habitats. It is affected by the drainage and reclamation of swamps for agriculture, but it is not considered to be threatened.
Diplacodes lefebvrii is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae known commonly as the black percher or black ground skimmer. It is a common species native to most all of Africa and southern Eurasia. It can be found in almost any type of freshwater habitat.
Olpogastra lugubris, the slender bottletail, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae; it is the only species in its genus.
Orthetrum chrysostigma, the epaulet skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi as well as Canary Islands, Israel, and Portugal. It was recorded in the Maltese Islands in 2010. One was also spotted in Tel Aviv, Israel in August 2022.
Trithemis arteriosa, the red-veined dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
Trithemis kirbyi, also known as the Kirby's dropwing,orange-winged dropwing, or scarlet rock glider is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
Anax guttatus, the pale-spotted emperor or lesser green emperor, is a dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae.
Orthetrum pruinosum, the crimson-tailed marsh hawk, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is a widespread species occurring from west India to Japan and south to Java and the Sunda Islands. A molecular phylogenetics study of Orthetrum dragonflies revealed that Orthetrum pruinosum is a cryptic species.
Trithemis aurora, the crimson marsh glider, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is a common and widely distributed species found throughout the year across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Brachythemis contaminata, ditch jewel, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in many Asian countries.
Bradinopyga geminata is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae known commonly as the granite ghost. It is native to India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, where it is a common and widespread species.
Cratilla lineata, the line forest-skimmer, emerald-banded skimmer or pale-faced forest-skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in many Asian countries.
The Spine-tufted skimmer, or brown-backed red marsh hawk, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is widespread in many Asian countries.
Palpopleura sexmaculata, commonly known as the Asian widow or blue-tailed yellow skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is widespread in several countries in South, East and Southeast Asia, but is no longer believed to occur in Sri Lanka.
Urothemis signata, the greater crimson glider, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is widespread in many Asian countries. A number of subspecies are recognized for this species.
Brachythemis impartita, the Northern banded groundling, is a species of dragonfly, a skimmer from the family Libellulidae from central and northern Africa, its range extending into southern Europe and the Middle East. It was previously considered to be conspecific with B. leucosticta.