Portia Widow, Palpopleura portia, Portia-weetjie

100 3246 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Male Vaalwater LP RSA Mch 2021r 3Male
102 552 2017 09 12 natuurpraal ou wyfieFemale
100 1302 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Old Female Melkrivier LP RSA Sept 2017r 1Female
Short description:

Portia Widow, Palpopleura portia, Portia-weetjie is very small to small sized, with a powdery blue body and extensive jet black but deeply indented patches on all wings.

More Images:
100 1283 Palpopleura jacunda Yellow veined Widow Male Haenertsburg LP RSA Dec 2015r 1Image Gallery
100 1314 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Male VClose uo aalwater LP RSA Mch 2021r 3Male
100 3406 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Female Close up Vaalwater LP RSA Mch 2021r2of24Female
100 1303 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Natuurpraal Female Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 3Female
 
 

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Key identification features:

Male:   100 1283 Palpopleura jacunda Yellow veined Widow Male Haenertsburg LP RSA Dec 2015r 1

  • Face dark brown. Labrum, anteclypeus, postclypeus and side of frons shiny blackish brown. Frons very sloping,with wrinkles, shiny, deep metallic blue. Vertex very
    prominent, with small peaks, dimpled, deep metallic blue. 100 1317 Natuurpraal Male Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 2
  • Eyes dark brown. 100 1317 Natuurpraal Male Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 2
  • Thorax is mottled brown, with two straight light greenish yellow stripes present on each side of the thorax. Dorsal thorax is pale blue pruinose.100 1314 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Natuurpraal Male Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 12
  • Wing has a wave in the basal fore wing costa. Extensive black scalloped (indentation) markings. These scallops (patches) vary in shape and size, between individual specimens, but still conform to a basic shape on the male, 100 1290 Banga Neck KZN Mch 2017r 7  and an Africa like shape on the females. 100 1298 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Haenertsburg LP RSA July 2015r 2 On both the wings the rear end of the markings are undulating. The outer scallop (patch) on the fore wing, sometimes extend across to the hind margin. The black markings extend from the wing root to the Pterostigmas. Pterostigmas may be blackish, but mostly bi-coloured, 3.5-3.7 mm long. Little or no yellow is visible on the male wing.
  • Abdomen is short, wide at midpoint, pale pruinescent bluish grey with distinct blackish appendages.100 1319 Natuurpraal Male Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 5

Female:  100 1297 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Female Melkrivier LP RSA Sept 2017r 1

  • Light and dark yellowish brown 100 1303 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Natuurpraal Female Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 3
  • Thorax has two yellowish stripes on the side. 100 1304 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Natuurpraal Female Close Up LP RSA Sept 20171r 1
  • Wing pattern is similar as male but black markings less extensive, particularly on the front margins, brown rather than black. The patches bordered with light smoky yellow, which, in hindwing, is extensive, but not quite reaching hind margin. The space between the antenodal cross-veins (Ax) on the hindwing are brown / black between the subcosta and radial (R1) up to the nodus. 100 1312 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Haenertsburg LP RSA July 2015r 8
  • Abdomen is irregular dark brown with yellow stripes over light yellowish brown. 100 1309 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Natuurpraal Female Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 5  Dorsal abdomen yellow stripe become almost invisible pruinescent grey brown with age. 100 1310 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Natuurpraal Female Close Up LP RSA Sept 2017r 6
  • The pterostigmas are about equal white and black in size. With age the white part of the pterostigmas will darken to almost as muddy brown.

Note:

  • Wing patters on both male and female may differ from specimen to specimen with age.
Habitat:
  • Frequents standing and often temporary waters in open landscapes, open areas in forest or shaded by gallery forest.
  • Its habitat is clear, shallow pools, and margins of dams with an abundance of tall grasses and reeds in hot open savanna. 
  • From 0 to 2300 m above sea level, but mostly below 1800.
Behaviour:
  • It has a darting, reasonably powerful flight. Returns to previously used perches perch over the water.
Compared with other species:
  • Females of P. lucia 100 707 Palpopleura portia Lucia Widow Female Numu July 2015r 1  and P. portia 100 1297 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Female Melkrivier LP RSA Sept 2017r 1  are most like P. portia males, 100 1283 Palpopleura jacunda Yellow veined Widow Male Haenertsburg LP RSA Dec 2015r 1  but is difficult to separate. Females must preferably be identified or photographed with males.
  • P portia and P. lucia have dark patches on the wings. P. lucia 100 707 Palpopleura portia Lucia Widow Female Numu July 2015r 1  P. portia 100 1297 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Female Melkrivier LP RSA Sept 2017r 1
  • Black patches in both wings of the female P. lucia is more extensive than the patches of P. Portia.
  • P deceptor has long black streaks in fore wing only with an isolated dark marking around node. 100 1933 Palpopleura deceptor Deceptive Widow Female Close up RNR GP RSA Feb 2018r 30  100 1934 Palpopleura deceptor Deceptive Widow Female Close up RNR GP RSA Feb 2018r 32
  • Pterostigmas of P. lucia and P portia are bi-coloured, half white and half black with black on outer side. The outer black part of the pterostigmas of P. Lucia follows to the last Px vein (on the wing tip) giving the pterostigma a cat nail like appearance P. jucunda has dark brown pterostigmas. Pterostigmas of P deceptor are black with white/cream in inner half.
  • P. lucia females have an amber patch in both wings that reaches the hind margins of the wings. These patches may also be prevalent in P. portia, but is lighter and do not reach the hind margins of the wings.
  • Female P. jucunda has distinctive dark patches on outer part of both wings, 100 1954 Diplacodes pumila Dwarf Percherr Male Old Close up Hertzogbergr MP RSA Nov 2017r 1 but the male have amber patches 100 1749 Palpopleura jacunda Yellow veined Widow Male Close up RNR Apr 2017r 10 in the area where the females have dark patch 
Distribution:

Palpopleura Portia Portia Widow Distribution Map May 2020Distribution Map,

Physical Map South Africa Physical Map

Political Map South Africa Political Map

Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Africa Distribution Map Mch 2021Distribution Map

Physical Map AfricaTopographical Map

Political Map AfricaPolitical Map

South Africa:

  • Common and widespread across the warm eastern and northern parts of South Africa. 

Africa:

  • Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Côte d'Ivoire; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo-Brazzaville; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinee-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Republic of Guinea; Republic of South Africa; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
About Palpopleura species
  • Click on image or species name to learn more
100 1283 Palpopleura jacunda Yellow veined Widow Male Haenertsburg LP RSA Dec 2015r 1Portia WidowPalpopeura Portia,
Example
100 1396 Palpopleura deceptor Deceptive Widow RNR GP RSA Jan 2017r 10Deceptive WidowPalpopleura deceptor
100 1288 Palpopleura portia Portia Widow Banga Neck KZN Mch 2017r 5Portia Widow, Portia-weetjie
Palpopleura portia
100 741 Palpopleura lucia Lucia Widow Marloth Park Sept 2016 1r 1Lucia Widow,
Palpopleura lucia
100 581 Palpopleura jacunda Yellow veined Widow Male Mooinooi NWP RSA Dec 2015r 2Yellow-veined Widow
Palpopleura jacunda,
Palpopleura albifrons Pale faced Widow Jens Kipping Pale-faced Widow Palpopleura albifrons
© Jens Kipping
Further reading

Websites