Hylaeothemis apicalis

Hylaeothemis apicalis[2][3] or the Blue Hawklet[4] is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae, endemic to India.[1][5]

Hylaeothemis apicalis
male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Odonata
Family:
Libellulidae
Genus:
Hylaeothemis
Species:
H. apicalis
Binomial name
Hylaeothemis apicalis
Fraser, 1924
Synonyms

Hylaeothemis indica Fraser, 1946

Fraser described Hylaeothemis indica in 1946 from specimens from the Western Ghats of India.[6] Previously this species has been treated as H. fruhstorferi; a species probably actually confined to Sri Lanka.[1][7] Fraser had also described a subspecies Hyaleothemis fruhstorferi apicalis in 1924.[2] Therefore, H. fruhstorferi apicalis and H. indica are synonymous and as the taxon H. f. apicalis precedes the taxon H. indica, the correct name is Hylaeothemis apicalis.[8][9]

Description and habitat

It is a medium-sized dragonfly with bluish-green eyes. Its thorax is black, marked with pale blue. There are two fine mid-dorsal stripes and a humeral stripe broadening below. Laterally blue, with a rather broad black stripe which bifurcates below to form an inverted Y. Abdomen is slim, black, marked with pale blue. There is a large lateral spot and a triangular apical mid-dorsal spot on segment 1. There is a fine mid-dorsal stripe, a large subdorsal apical spot and a large ventro-lateral spot on segment 2. Segments 3 to 6 have lateral stripes. Segment 7 has a large dorsal spot on the basal three-fourths. Anal appendages are black. Female is similar to the male; but greenish-yellow instead of blue, as in the sub-adult male.[7]

It is found in small colonies closely associated with forested marshes. It breeds in the seepage from marshes along the banks of mountain streams and usually found resting on the foliage beside streams.[10][11]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hylaeothemis apicalis.
  1. Dow, R.A. (2009). "Hylaeothemis apicalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T163699A5637863. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T163699A5637863.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. C FC Lt. Fraser (1924). A Survey of the Odonate (Dragonfly) Fauna of Western India and Descriptions of Thirty New Species (PDF). p. 430.
  3. Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. (2023). "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral, University of Alabama. Retrieved 14 Mar 2023.
  4. "Hylaeothemis indica - Blue Hawklet - Odonata of India".
  5. K.A., Subramanian; K.G., Emiliyamma; R., Babu; C., Radhakrishnan; S.S., Talmale (2018). Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India. Zoological Survey of India. pp. 328–329. ISBN 9788181714954.
  6. Fraser, F. C. (1946). "Hylaeothemis indica, a new species of oriental libelluline (order Odonata)". Proc. R. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 15 (7/8): 97–100.
  7. C FC Lt. Fraser (1936). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. III. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 261–262.
  8. Kimmins, D. E. (1966). "A list of the Odonata types described by F. C. Fraser, now in the British Museum (Natural History)". Bulletin of the British Museum. 18: 196–197. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  9. Kalkman, V. J.; Babu, R.; Bedjanič, M.; Conniff, K.; Gyeltshenf, T.; Khan, M. K.; Subramanian, K. A.; Zia, A.; Orr, A. G. (2020-09-08). "Checklist of the dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka". Zootaxa. Magnolia Press, Auckland, New Zealand. 4849 (1): 001–084. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4849.1.1. hdl:10072/398768. ISBN 978-1-77688-047-8. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 33056748. S2CID 222819662.
  10. "Hylaeothemis indica Fraser, 1946". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  11. "Hylaeothemis indica Fraser, 1946". Odonata of India, v. 1.00. Indian Foundation for Butterflies. Retrieved 2017-02-13.


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