Round-winged Bluet, Proischnura rotundipennis , Rondevlerkbloutjie.   Flag of South Africa.svg

100 401 Ezemvelo GP RSA Mch 2016r 3
100 403 Proischnura rotundipennis Round winged Bluet Ezemvelo GP RSA Mch 2016r 7
100 408 Proischnura rotundipennis Round winged Bluet Male Sabi MP RSA NOV 2016r 1
Short Description:

Round-winged Bluet, Proischnura rotundipennis, Rondevlerkbloutjie is very small sized, bright blue and black with rounded wings, distinctive round black pterostigmas with blue margins.

Family Coenagrionidae Kirby, 1890

More images: 

Proischnura rotundipennis Round winged Bluet Male Ezomvhelo MP March 2016Image Gallery




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Key identification features:

Male:

  • Face is light blue and black. Labrum is blue and the postclypeus black. Top of the head is black. Postocular spots are bright blue crescent-shaped.
  • Eyes are blue with black cap.
  • Synthorax is blue. Middorsal stripes of the synthorax are black with thin blue antihumeral stripes and thick black humeral stripes on either side. Sides of the synthorax are light blue.
  • Wings are clear with round wingtips and the round pterostigmas with black center and bright blue border (sides and hind margin).
  • Abdomen is long and slim. S1 and S2 have a black pattern above and bright blue below. S3–7 is light blue to light brown with continuous black stripe. Black stripe ends squarely at the end of s7. S8 is all bright blue and first half of S9 is bright blue. S 10 is black above.

Female:

  • Greenish blue to light brown. Very small postocular spots.
  • Grey to black abdomen with the same markings as the male. Black pterostigmas have a pale blue border.
Compared with other species:
  • Africallagma sapphirinum, Sapphire Bluet, has a more distinctive bright sapphire blue colour.
  • A. glaucum, Swamp Bluet, is paler and has linear postocular spots
  • A. fractum Slender Bluet, has bigger wedge like postocular spots. 
  • P. rotundipennis, Round-winged Bluet. first half of S9 is bright blue, but it is all blue in most of the other bluet species, except Mauve Bluet, P. polychromatica
  • P. rotundipennis has round black with blue rimmed pterostigmas and round wingtips.
Distribution and habitat:

Frequents still water habitats like pools, dams and still parts of small streams with an abundance of tall grasses, reeds and sedges.

Behaviour:
  • Perch high on plant stems.
Compared with other species:
  • Africallagma sapphirinum, Sapphire Bluet, has a more distinctive bright sapphire blue colour.
  • A. glaucum, Swamp Bluet, is paler and has linear postocular spots
  • A. fractum Slender Bluet, has bigger wedge like postocular spots. 
  • P. rotundipennis, Round-winged Bluet. first half of S9 is bright blue, but it is all blue in most of the other bluet species, except Mauve Bluet, P. polychromatica
  • P. rotundipennis has round black with blue rimmed pterostigmas and round wingtips.
Distribution
Proischnura rotundipennis Round winged Bluet Distribution Map July 2020 Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Africa

  • Endemic to South Africa.This specie is found in the upland grassland from Eastern Cape up to Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KZN.
Further reading:

Websites of interest: