Orthetrum brachiale (Palisot de Beauvois, 1817)

It's been a while, hasn't it?

To break that streak, then:

Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia, in December 2013, using Olympus E-420 DSLR with Zuiko 40-150mm lens and 2 KOOD magnifiers.

This delightfully blue dragonfly seems limited to Sub-Saharan Africa, and a few of the associated islands. It apparently hasn't made it across the Sahara, as the IUCN disregards a handful of records from Egypt; these presumably belong to one of several quite similar species.

As a side-note, dragonfly, in Chewa, is Tombolombo; to translate the English name of 'Strong [Skimmer] Dragonfly', we'd go with Mphamvu Tombolombo (possibly not in that order, and spellings of mphamvu vary considerably, with mpamvu being a closer guide to pronunciation in the derived Chi-Nyanja language spoken around Lusaka).

In the more universal Linnaean binomial, this is:

Orthetrum brachiale

(Palisot de beauvois, 1817)

Which further belongs to:

- Libellulinae    

-  Libellulidae     

See also Rhyothemis semihyalina.

- Libelluloidea     

- Anisoptera          

See also Lestinogomphus angustus.

- Epiprocta             

- Odonata                 

See also Enallagma cyathigerum and Pseudagrion hageni.

- Holodonata              

- Odonatoptera             

- Metapterygota             

See also Eremoides bicristatus, Hagenomyia tristis, Dichtha inflata, Oedemera nobilis, Otiorhynchus atroapterus,Malachius bipustulatus , Phyllobius pomaceus, Cheilomenes lunata, Melolontha melolontha, Neojulodis vittipennis, Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasinii, Lophyra cf. differens, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Anthophora furcata, Andrena nigroaenea, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Nemophora degeerella, Sphinx ligustri, Laelia robusta, Acada biseriata, Metisella willemi, Anthocharis cardamines, Papilio demodocus, Panorpa germanica, Chloromyia formosa, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Metadon inermis, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes, Pephricus, Grypocoris stysi, Ranatra, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Idolomantis dentifrons, Sibylla pretiosa, Tettigonia viridissima, Stictogryllacris punctata, Enyaliopsis, Humbe tenuicornis, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Heteropternis thoracica and Pseudothericles jallae.

- Megoperculata               

- Pterygota                        

- Dicondylia                          

See also Dicranopalpus ramosus.

- Insecta                                
- Hexapoda                              

- Arthropoda                            

See also Ligia oceanica, Dysdera crocata, Phrynarachne rugosa, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi, Pardosa amentata  and Alopecosa barbipes.

- Ecdysozoa                               

- Protostomia                              

See also Burtoa nilotica.

- Nephrozoa                                  

See also Caprimulgus pectoralis, Tockus alboterminatus, Larus argentatus, Sterna hirundo, Burhinus vermiculatus, Troglodytes troglodytes, Megaceryle maxima, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Stigmatopelia senegalensis, Lygodactylus capensis, Thelotornis capensis, Zootoca vivipara, Trachylepis varia, Trachylepis striata wahlbergi, Hipposideros vittatus, Syncerus caffer, Rana temporaria, Breviceps poweri, Chiromantis xerampelina and Synchiropus splendidus. 

- Bilateralia                                     

- Eumetazoa                                     

- Animalia                                          

- Eukaryota                                         

There are, as previously noted, a fair few similar blue matombolombo around; the most troubling is usually Orthetrum stemmale, which is perhaps most easily distinguished by the colour of the pterostigma (coloured cell on the leading edge of the wing, near the tip); so far as I can tell, O. stemmale has a very dark brown, almost black pterostigma with a thick black border. In O. brachiale, on the other hand, the pterostigma seems to be pale brown with a thin black border. To put today's guest into this discussion, here's a more inclusive shot: 

 It is worth noting that, with the paucity of literature readily accessible on this subject, a pale brown pterostigma should not necessarily be taken as a clear sign that O. brachiale is the species, but it seems to be a helpful hint.

And that's all, folks! 

Lestinogomphus angustus, Martin, 1911

Riddle of the day: What does today's featured creature share with whale sharks and dogfish?

No, it's not a cartilaginous fish. It shares a misleading name, although in this case it's the Latinate generic name, Lestinogomphus, derived from Lestes and Gomphus, the type genera of the Spreadwing Damselflies (Lestidae) and the Clubtail Dragonflies (Gomphidae), respectively. As with dogfish and whale sharks, the second one is the actual affiliation. 

Behold, then, the common fairytail dragonfly:

 

Photographed in near Chombe, in the Kafue National Park, in October 2011, Using and Olympus E-420 with Zuiko 40-150mm lens and 1 KOOD magnifier.

It's not a great photograph, and I would have tried for a better one but, having a perfectly rational fear of crocodiles, I was uncomfortable keeping my back to the Kafue for more than a few seconds at a time.  

This delightfully odd dragonfly, which we've already established is the common (or spined) fairytail, is also known as 

Lestinogomphus angustus

Martin, 1911

As with all dragonflies I'm aware of, it is harmless - there is no sting in that tail - but can deliver a painful (but venomless) nip if handled.   

 - Gomphini

- Gomphinae

- Gomphidae  

- Aeshnoidea    

- Anisoptera       

- See also Rhyothemis semihyalina.

- Epiprocta             

- Odonata                 

- See also Pseudagrion hageni and Enallagma cyathigerum.

- Holodonata                

- Odonatoptera               

- Manopterygota               

- See also Metisella willemi, Acada biseriata, Anthocharis cardamines, Laelia robusta, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes, Metadon inermis, Panorpa germanica, Melolontha melolontha, Malachius bipustulatus, Demetrias atricapillus, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Cheilomenes lunata, Anthia fornasiini, Oedemera noobilis, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Andrena nigroaenea, Hagenomyia tristis, Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Ranatra, Grypocoris stysi, Cyathosternum prehensile, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Stictogryllacris punctata, Sibylla and Humbe tenuicornis.

- Pterygota                                        

- Dicondylia                                        

- Insecta                                                 

- Hexapoda                                               

- Arthropoda                                               

- See also Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Alopecosa barbipes, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi and Hyllus argyrotoxus.

- Ecdysozoa                                                       

- Protostomia                                                       

- Nephrozoa                                                             

- See also Zootoca vivipara, Trachylepis varia, Lygodactylus capensis, Thelotornis capensis, Burhinus vermiculatus, Sterna hirundo, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Troglodytes troglodytes, Hipposideros vittatus, Chiromantis xerampelina, Rana temporaria and Synchiropus splendidus.

- Bilateralia                                                                         

- Eumetazoa                                                                            

- Animalia                                                                                    

- Eukaryota                                                                                                            

And it might not be much, but that is all, folks! 

As previously mentioned, the best place online to go for african dragonflies is the aptly names Africa Dragonfly, although use with caution, as the moderators may occasionally let though a misidentified image... Warwick Tarboton's page on dragonflies of South Africa also seems good, although I've yet to explore it fully...

Rhyothemis semihyalina (Desjardins, 1832)

To avoid losing all your limited attention with the pre-amble, I'm going to be starting with the picture henceforth. When I remember.

Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia, in November 2011, using an Olympus E-420 DSLR, with a Zuiko 40-150mm lens and three KOOD magnifiers. It's been shrunk to be uploaded, but is still a BIG image, if you feel like clicking on it to see the facets of a dragonfly's eyes...

This, dear reader, is

Rhyothemis semihyalina

(Desjardins, 1832)

In common with other Rhyothemis, it is a flutterer, and specifically the Phantom Flutterer. Seeing it in flight gives you a good idea of the reasons for its name - as only the bases of its wings are inky black, in flight it appears a much smaller insect, and, as the bases move much more slowly than the wing-tips, looks a weak flier. To assure you that this is not the case, in 2013 I saw an individual of this species hovering over traffic on the main road into Lusaka City, snatching less agile insects from the air after cars had stunned them (I remain uncertain as to whether its agility or resourcefulness impressed me more greatly). 

- Rhyothemistini

- Trameinae           

- Libellulidae            

- Libelluloidea             

- Anisoptera                     

- Epiprocta                            

  - Odonata                                

See also: Pseudagrion hageni and Enallagma cyathigerum

- Holodonata                               

- Odonatoptera                                

- Manopterygota                                 

See also: Sibylla, Stictogryllacris punctata, Cyathosternum prehensile, Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Ranatra, Panorpa germanica, Megistocera filipes, Diasemopsis meigenii, Episyrphus balteatus, Helophilus pendulus, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Zebronia phenice, Laelia robusta, Anthocharis cardamines, Acada biseriata, Hagenomyia tristis, Vespula germanica, Synagris proserpina, Astata tropicalis, Melolontha melolontha, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Malachius bipustulatus, Demetrias atricapillus and Anthia fornasiini.

- Pterygota                                             

- Dicondylia                                              

- Insecta                                                        

- Hexapoda                                                        

- Arthropoda                                                         

See also: Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi and Hyllus argyrotoxus.

- Ecdysozoa                                                             

- Protostomia                                                              

- Nephrozoa                                                                   

See also: Chiromantis xerampelina, Thelotornis capensis, Trachylepis varia, Lygodactylus capensis, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica, Sterna hirundo and Hipposideros vittatus.

- Bilateralia                                                                       

- Eumetazoa                                                                          

- Animalia                                                                                 

- Eukaryota                                                                                     

 

That's all, folks!

Africa Dragonfly is an excellent photographic resource on the diverse African damsel and dragonflies. It includes user-submitted images of three of the six flutterers in Rhyothemis (external links): R. fenestrina, identifiable by almost entirely black wings with clear windows; R. notata, with all four wings black for just over half their length and this species, R. semihyalina, with the basal third, or thereabouts, of the hindwings inky black. The three unpictured species known from Africa are Rhyothemis mariposa, a widespread species which is found in Zambia but seems to be restricted to wetlands, Rhyothemis cognata, a Madagascar endemic, and Rhyothemis splendens, which has only (ever?) been recorded once, although this was from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo, and so it may occur unrecorded in parts of Zambia.