Jaunty Dropwing, Trithemis stictica, Vrolike Valvlerkie

Short description:

Jaunty Dropwing, Trithemis stictica, Vrolike Valvlerkie Small with a characteristic uniform powdery blue thorax and a black with yellow abdomen with yellow lengthwise dashes either side of a central dorsal black line.

Family Libellulidae Leach, 1815

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 Guides:

• Guide to Dropwings - General (Trithemis)
• Guide to Dropwings - Blue
• Guide to Dropwings - Red/Orange/Brown

Key identification features:

Males:  

• Eyes are uniformly bluish, with a few black mottles. Vertex and dorsum of frons metallic blue. Back of head is bright black and yellow.   
• Thorax pruinose pale blue. 
• Wings are slightly smoky with hind wing base clear rather than often amber, with faint central orange brown circular patch present (Both sexes). 10-12½ Ax in front wing. Costal, Subcostal and R1 veins outside of nodus a creamy pink colour. Pterostigmas are dark brown between black margins,
• Abdomen slender, black with bright yellow dashes along most of its length. Segments 9 and 10 and appendages all black. 
• Young males are similar to females.Young Western Cape individuals has brown costas on all wings

Females:  

• Very dark from above, blackish and yellow.
• Thorax side yellow, with a dark brown longitudinal  central zig-zag stripe. Distinct yellow stripe present between wings. 
• Abdomen is much ticker than that of the male. Yellow markings of abdomen is mainly only along the side.
• No central circular faint splash on hindwing. Young Western Cape individuals has brown costas on all wings

Habitat:

• Prefers mostly streams, but also rivers and standing waters, in open landscapes, but sometimes in open areas in forest or shaded by gallery forest.
• Usually with emergent vegetation and often a sandy, soft (like muddy) and/or probably gravelly bottom, probably especially calmer sections (like pools) with coarse detritus.
  From 0 to 2200 m above sea level, but mostly below 1900.

Behaviour:

• Alert as it perches conspicuously on a stick on reed at a pool or river margin, often darting out to defend its territory.
• Frequently seen on hot days with its abdomen in the upright obelisk position and its wings forward.

Compared with other species:

• Unmistakable.
• T. stictica is the only species in SA with a pale blue thorax, and black and yellow abdomen, and blue, metallic frons.

Learn More about other Dropwings, (Trithemis) Species

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Distribution

South Africa

• Occurs throughout much of South Africa, but absent (not yet recorded) from the dry northern Cape and NWP.

Africa

• Angola; Burundi; Cameroon; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia; Ghana; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Sierra Leone; Somalia; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

Further reading:

Websites:

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