For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Red-veined Dropwing (TrithemisArteriosa)

Red-veined Dropwing's are very common and found throughout Africa and into the Mediteranean and for this reason I thought that I had done a post on them before but find that I only posted pictures of the male.
As you can see by the male below, they are very different in looks but both have the red veins from which they get their names.
 It is customary for them to land on a stalk of grass and fold their wings forward as above.
 One of the things to use in identifying them is the eyes of the female which is brownish-red above and white below.

 Both male and female have distinct markings on the side and top of the tail.

 Some males get very dark red but I am not sure if this is an indication of age.
 The one below is a young male and although the coloration is similar to that of the female, it can be seen that the eyes are turning completely red as in the adult male.