Common Citril, Ceriagrion glabrum, Gewone Aljander

102 005 Male
1 1460 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril F Young Hertzogberg MP RSA Jan 2023r 1Young Male
Uvongo tandem image by Helena CoetzeePair
Short description:

Common Citril, Ceriagrion glabrum, Gewone Aljander is medium sized, primarily orange in colour, with two, minute projections on S10

Family Coenagrionidae     (Kirby, 1890)
More Images:
Citril Kosi maleImage Gallery
100 2602 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril Male Close up Bang Neck KZN RSA Mch 2019r 2Male
1 1446 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril M C Kozi Mch 2024r 1Male
100 022 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril Female Close up Jgomo Kgomo Apr 2017r 1Female
1 1433 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril F C Kozi Mch 2024r 2Female
1 1425 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril F C Kozi Mch 2024r 12Female Old

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Key identification features:

Male:

  • Face and head dull orange.
  • Eyes are greenish, with dark grey cap above Creamy green below.
  • Thorax is orange, darker above, lighter below with a greenish tinge, particularly below. 
  • Wings are clear. Pterostigmas are dark rusty brown with fine pale yellow borders.
  • Abdomen is bright orange. Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril Male Close up Bang Neck KZN RSA Mch 2019Segment 10 has two small (teeth-like), distinct backward-pointing projections on hind margin. Cercus (superior appendages) shorter the paraproct (Inferior appendages) Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril Male Close up Bang Neck KZN RSA Mch 2019

Female:   100 022 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril Female Close up Jgomo Kgomo Apr 2017r 1

  • Females are similar to males but slightly more robust, duller, browner and greener. 100 022 Ceriagrion glabrum Common Citril Female Close up Jgomo Kgomo Apr 2017r 1
Compared with other species:
  • C. glabrum and, C suave (Suave Citril) best identified in hand when in co-habitation areas
  • The only common bright, all-orange species throughout most of SA, except in the lowveld  areas of northern KZN, MP and the Limpopo river valley (vary rare) where the much rarer Suave Citril, Ceriagrion suave, occurs.
  • C. glabrum has two prominent, black-tipped, multiple-pointed (teeth-like) projections on the hind margin of S10, while C. suave does not have these projections.
  • Inferior appendages of C. glabrum are longer than the superior appendages of C. suave.
Habitat:
  • Frequents pools, marshes and sluggish reaches of rivers with an abundance of tall grass, sedge and reeds. Sometimes an open habitat, with trees nearby, or even in thick forest.
  • From 0 to 2000 m above sea level, but mostly below 1500
Behaviour:
  • Rests in and hovers among tall grass and other vegetation, sometimes some distance away from the water's edge. Females are often with males and mating pairs are common.
Compared with other species:
  • C. glabrum and, C suave (Suave Citril) best identified in hand when in co-habitation areas
  • The only common bright, all-orange species throughout most of SA, except in the lowveld  areas of northern KZN, MP and the Limpopo river valley (vary rare) where the much rarer Suave Citril, Ceriagrion suave, occurs.
  • C. glabrum has two prominent, black-tipped, multiple-pointed (teeth-like) projections on the hind margin of S10, while C. sauve does not have these projections.
  • Inferior appendages of C. glabrum are longer than the superior appendages of C. suave.
Distribution:

Distribution MapDistribution Map

Political Map South Africa Political Map

Topographical Map South Africa

Ceriagrion glabrum map afr

Political Map Africa

Topographical Map Africa

South Africa:

  • Common Citril Ceriagrion glabrum Gewone Aljander is common in the northern and eastern half of South Africa, and along the coastal areas to the Western Cape. 

Africa:

  • Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Côte d'Ivoire; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinee-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Republic of Guinea; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; São Tomé & Príncipe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Socotra (Yemen); Somalia; South Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Further reading:

Websites

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
A Visual Guide to the Damselflies and Dragonflies of South Africa