Blue Basker, Urothemis edwardsii, Blousonvangertjie.

100 1037 Tzaneen Nov 2016r 4Male
MerenskiMale
Female Female
Short description:

Blue Basker, Urothemis edwardsii, Blousonvangertjie is medium sized, stout, dark blue and black with blackish hind wing patches and distinctive dark blue markings on the abdomen.

Family Libellulidae Leach, 1815

More Images:
100 1034 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Male Tzaneen Nov 2016r 1Image Gallery
100 2072 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Baskerl Male Close up Rust de Winter LP RSA Oct 2020r 3Male
100 3909 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Baskerl Male Close up Rust de Winter LP RSA Oct 2020r 4Male
100 2063 Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3Female.
100 3897 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Baskerl Female Close up1 Rust de Winter LP RSA Oct 2020r 1Female

 

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Key identification features:

Male: 100 2072 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Close up Male Hertzogberg MP Nov 2017r 2

  • Face shiny black above and on top. Side of postclypeus and frons with light grey patch. Labium cream, often broadly blackish centrally 100 2074 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Close up Male Hertzogberg MP Nov 2017r 3
  • Eyes are black above and grey below.  100 2074 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Close up Male Hertzogberg MP Nov 2017r 3
  • Thorax deep deep blue with diffuse black markings especially along the top, with to black stripes on the side,often thorax blue pruinose with maturity. 100 2075 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Close up Male Hertzogberg MP Nov 2017r 4
  • Legs coxa/trochanter pale, rest dark / pruinose. 100 2072 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Close up Male Hertzogberg MP Nov 2017r 2
  • Hind wing with large, blackish, basal patch, with fine, amber halo. Fore wing with minute traces of basal amber. Veins dark brown with cream coloured Ax veins and outer costal veins. Pterostigmas are light yellowish  with a thin, black margin along the front edge. 100 2072 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Close up Male Hertzogberg MP Nov 2017r 2
  • Abdomen is deep blue with distinct dark ladder-like blue/black arrowhead like pattern from the base to tip. Pruinose with maturity. Superior appendages brownish in colour.   100 3915 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Baskerl Male Close up Rust de Winter LP RSA Oct 2020r 16 100 3916 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Baskerl Male Close up Rust de Winter LP RSA Oct 2020r 20

Female: 100 2063 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3

  • Similar in build, light brown with dark brown markings instead of blue.  100 2063 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3 100 2064 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 4
  • Legs top half of femora pale, bottom half dark. May vary to the middle part of the femora pale, tops part dark but coxa/trochanter pale 100 2063 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3  100 2064 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 4
  • Abdomen yellow/orange with similar markings as male 100 2069 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 23 100 2070 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 25
  • Hind wing patch less intense and more irregular in shape with large amber halo.100 2071 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 27 Wingtips have some amber.100 2071 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 27
Habitat
  • Prefers standing waters, rivers and flowing channels in marshes, but possibly also lakes, in open landscapes, open areas in forest or shaded by gallery forest. Usually with emergent vegetation and often coarse detritus and a soft muddy bottom.
  • From 0 to 1600 m above sea level.
Behaviour:
  • Strong flight but soon returns to perch.
  • Typically rest in ‘pennant’ position, i.e. at the tip of a conspicuous perch, with legs thrust forward and wings raised with the abdomen angled up or down.
Compared with other species:
  • Similar to the Red Basker, U. assignata, 100 2481 Urothemis assignata Red Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2019r 1 but different in colour . 100 2063 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3
  • Female U. assignata 100 2483 Urothemis assignata Red Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2019r 5  has reddish abdomen and less distinct abdominal markings than the female U. edwardsii 100 2069 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 23
  • Wing patches of U. assignata 100 2491 Urothemis assignata Red Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2019r 26 larger and darker red than U. edwardsii 100 2071 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 27
  • U.edwardsii Male legs top half of femora pale, bottom half dark. May vary to the middle of the femora pale, tops dark but coxa/trochanter pale 100 2063 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3  100 2064 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 4 Female legs top half of femora pale, bottom half dark. May vary to the middle of the femora pale, top part dark but coxa/trochanter pale 100 2063 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 3  100 2064 Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Female Close up Ndumo KZN RSA Mch 2018r 4 U. assignata male legs coxa/trochanter pale reddish, rest dark; femora may have reddish glow.
Learn more about Baskers

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Pygmy Basker

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 Distribution: 
Urothemis edwardsii Blue Basker Map 05 2020Distribution Map
South Africa
Political Map South Africa Political Map
Topographical Map South Africa Topographical Map
Urothemis edwardsii Distribution Map Africa Distribution Map
Africa
Political Map AfricaPolitical Map
Topographical Map AfricaTopographical Map

South Africa:

  •  Fairly common in the eastern coastal regions and the warm northern parts of South Africa.

Africa:

  •  Algeria; Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Côte d'Ivoire; Cameroon; Chad; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinee-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Further reading:

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