Banded Skimmer (Orthetrum brachiale)

Banded Skimmer, Orthetrum brachiale, Gebande Skepper.

100 2055 Orthetrum brachiale Banded Skimmer Male Ndumu KZN RSA Mch 2017r 8

Short description:

Banded Skimmer, Orthetrum brachiale, Gebande Skepper. is medium sized with a dark grey thorax with slight yellowish markings on lower abdomen. Males best identified by inspection of secondary genitalia.

Family Libellulidae Leach, 1815

More Images:

Image Gallery

Male

Click on images and links to enlarge and open or view more

Key identification features:

Males

Abdomen 30 -33mm, hind wing span 32 - 35mm, Pterostigma 4 - 4.5mm
Face mostly pale to dark grey above, brown below (diagnostic) Top of head dark brown, dimpled.
Eyes greenish blue with dark spots.
Thorax greyish brown with strong, dark brown stripes on shoulders and sides, overall becoming darker brown and then pruinescent light blue with age, giving a pale blue stripe; no cream stripes on sides. Area on top of the thorax between wing bases remains pale greenish blue as sides darken.
Wings clear, becoming smoky with age. Costas and subcostal cream, base of hind wing dark brown.
Pterostigmas dark brown with lighter centers
Abdomen, when young, heavily marked with dark rings against light background, and with a long, thin, dark, dorsal stripe. With age these dark markings become obscured with blue pruinescence. Appendages black with white tip
Old males are better identified by inspection of the secondary genitalia.

Females

Light brown with striking fine, dark brown lines on shoulders and sides, abdomen with blackish rings and side patches, and a fine dark line runs along the top of the abdomen.
Females and young males have well marked bands on the abdomen, with the upper part of the band elongated to make a clear black band around the bottom part of the segment, which is yellow on top in the front and black underneath with the rear part of the segment yellow on top and yellow band underneath.
Subcostal Ax veins always pale.
Labrum usually all pale.
Claspers are dark withe white tips

Habitat:

Open standing and often temporary waters in open landscapes, but sometimes also in open areas in forest or shaded by gallery forest. Often with emergent vegetation, coarse detritus and a sandy and/or soft (like muddy) bottom.
From 0 to 2100 m above sea level, but mostly below 1500.

Behaviour:

Perches on long grass at the margins

Compared with other species:

Easily misidentified with Bold Skimmer, O. stemmale. O. brachiale has shorter broader abdomen than O. stemmale.
O. brachiale face is mostly pale to dark grey above, brown below (diagnostic). Top of head dark brown, dimpled.
Female claspers are dark compared with the yellowish claspers of O. stemmale.

Distribution:

Distribution map

Political Map

Topographical Map

Distribution Map