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Emerald African, Hemicordulia africana, Afrikaanse Swalker
Short Description
The African Emerald is medium sized to fairly large, slender, with bright metallic green and yellow dashes
Family Condolidae
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Key identification features:
Male
- Face olive and yellow,covered with dense dark hairs. Labrum yellowish brown, rest of face olive, grading into a metallic dimpled upper surface of the frons.
- Head dimpled and metallic green from above. Eyes greenish above, greyish olive below.
- Thorax bright metallic green with alternating pale dull yellow bands and covering of dense light brown hairs on upper surface.
- Wings slightly smoky, especially central area of hindwing. Pterostigmas very short (1.8 mm long), deep reddish brown.
- Abdomen narrow and rounded above, flattened and metallic green below. Indistinct pale yellow dashes present on sides of segments 6 to 8. Superior appendages long, slender. Inferior appendages long, slender and curved. Dark brownish black.
Female
- Female similar, abdomen more cylindrical and swollen towards end,
- Wings distinctly smoky especially at bases, yellow abdominal side-markings more extensive and run along most of abdomen.
Habitat:
- habitat is grassy forest clearings and margins near pools or streams in swamp forest
Behaviour:
- It hawks up and down at forest margins, frequently landing to hang vertically from a twig in the shade, 2 to 3 m above the ground
Flight Period
- On the wing from October to April.
Distribution
South Africa:
- The African Emerald occurs in northern coastal KwaZulu-Natal and its range extends north to East Africa
Africa
Further reading:
Credit
Manual of Freshwater Assessment for South Africa: Dragonfly Biotic Index
Michael J. Samways & John P. Simaika