Suave Citril, Ceriagrion suave, Snoepie-Aljander

101 075 Ceriagrion sauve Sauve Citril Male Tshipise LP RSA Feb 2018 Photographer John Wilkinson 1

101 077 Ceriagrion sauve Sauve Citril Female Tshipise LP RSA Feb 2018 Photographer John Wilkinson 1

 

Short description:

Suave Citril, Ceriagrion suave, Snoepie-Aljander is medium sized and all orange. without any projections on S10

Family Coenagrionidae        (Kirby, 1890)   Pond Damsels

 More Images:

101 075 Male Tshipise LP RSA Feb 2018 Photographer John Wilkinson 1Image Gallery

101 078 Ceriagrion sauve Sauve Citril Male Tshipise LP RSA Feb 2018 Photographer John Wilkinson m1Male

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Key identification features:

Male:

  • Face and head orange from above.
  • Eyes dark green above, yellowish below.
  • Thorax brownish orange above, light orange on sides. Wings clear to slightly smoky. Pterostigmas reddish brown.
  • Abdomen bright orange, margin of segment 10 lacks projections. Superior appendages straight and with a terminal hook,. Inferior appendages similar length as superior appendages and with a stubby hook.

Female:

  • Female similar to male, more robust, duller and brownish.
Compared with other species:
  • The Common Citril Ceriagrion glabrum is a  bright, all-orange species found  throughout most of SA. In Northern KZN, MP and Limpopo lowveld and the Limpopo river  valley lowveld  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.
Habitat:
  • It occurs at pools, waterholes and marshes particularly in flooded areas May breed in temporary pools. It rests and flits among the tall grasses and sedge.
  • From 0 to 1900 m above sea level, but mostly below 1300.
Behaviour:
  • It rests and flits among the tall grasses and sedge. Easy to observe due to the coloration 
Compared with other species:
  • The Common Citril Ceriagrion glabrum is a  bright, all-orange species found  throughout most of SA. In Northern KZN, MP and Limpopo lowveld and the Limpopo river  valley lowveld  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 Map May 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Africa:

  •  Suave Citril Ceriagrion suave Snoepie-aljander is highly localised, having only been recorded in the northeast of South Africa and Swaziland. 

Africa

  • Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; Guinee-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of Guinea; Republic of South Africa; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Sudan; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe; 

 Further reading:

Websites referring to this species
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species    Least Concern
Odonata Atlas of Africa VMU Number 662790
African Dragonflies and Damselflies Online
A Visual Guide to the Damselflies and Dragonflies of South Africa