Little Percher, Diplacodes deminuta, Klein Sitterjie

Short description:

Little Percher, Diplacodes deminuta, Klein Sitterjie, is very small to small sized, and all black when mature When immature a yellowish side stripe on the side of the abdomen may be visible.

Family Libellulidae Leach, 1815

Male:   

•  Hw 15-21 mm.
  Note:  These measurements are important to differentiate between the Black Percher and the Dwarf Percher D. pumila. 
• Largely black with maturity, sometimes partly with pale grey pruinosity. When body is not yet entirely black. Mesepisternum yellowish, like sides of thorax
• When body is all black face often laterally or frontally yellow, rather than all black        
• Wings clear with patch at Hind wing  base at most deep amber
• Pterostigmas only about 2 mm, whitish rather than brown
• Abdomen has white/yellow marks on lateral side8 S8 at most with small or indistinct pale spot, S9-10 all black. only tip of epiproct and tips of cerci usually dark, rather than the entire epiproct as well as underside of the cerci

Habitat:

• Standing and often temporary waters, rivers and possibly also flowing channels in marshes in open landscapes.
• Usually with emergent vegetation. From 0 to 1500 m above sea level.

Compared with other species:

• Male is similar to the Dwarf Percher, D. pumila.
• D. pumila has dark claspers. Black Percher, Diplacodes lefebvrii has white (young) to dark light brown claspers, very seldom black
• D. pumila has white/yellow spot on s 9. D. lefebvrii s 9 all black.
• Female D. pumila has uniform brown patched on dorsal thorax either side of dorsal carina. D. lefebvrii has three clear dark stripes either side of dorsal carina 

 Images of the the four  African Species.

Distribution  

• Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gabon; Liberia; Namibia; Nigeria; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; NOT confirmed: Malawi