Dragonflies of South Africa : Red-Veined Dropwing

Red-Veined Dropwing's

Red-Veined Dropwings are common dragonflies found in many of Africa's countries, they come from the family Libellulidae. They were given there name because of the bright red veins running across there wings. There scientific name is “Trithemis arteriosa”.

Identification

The male has a slender red abdomen, yellow flecks at the base of the wings, red crimson eyes, the lower mouth parts are yellow with a central bronze strip. Black markings run a long the abdomen increasing in size until they reach the tip which is completely black.

The female and immature male's have a yellowish-russet abdomen with a pale streak between the wings. There marking are otherwise pretty much the same as the male. The females eyes seem to be only red at the top half of there face, lower down turning into a light blue or grey. Instead of the bright red veined wings the males have the females have a yellow-orange colour.