Back to photostream

Orthemis sp. - Tropical King Skimmer (Hagen, 1861)

Magmoor Caverns

 

Description: Orthemis is a neotropical genus of dragonflies in the order Odonata, subordem Epipocrita (= Epiproctophora), infraorder Anisoptera, superfamily Libelluloidea, family Libellulidae and subfamily Libellulinae. The males and females of O. aequilibris possess varying tones in coloration as can be seen in a link below. In all, this is a male.

 

You can see more pictures of Orthemis here: www.allodonata.com/

 

The larvae are aquatic predators.

 

There is a wing membrane surrounding the hyaline nodus with a black costal vein. 10 abdominal segments seem to be present. Through observation alone and measuring with a ruler without a specimen in hands, I believe the wingspan lies somewhere around 105mm or close. Males in this genus tend to have more impacting colors than females.

 

Supposedly, they are of Neotropical distribution

 

Adults of Orthemis are aerial hunters and will predate insects in general. Their eyesight is pretty much on pair with all Odonata I've seen. They are often seen perching on a twig and can be found in humid habitats, most often forests, suburban and rural habitats.

 

Other sources:

 

books.google.com.br/books?id=J584AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA269&am...

 

eol.org/pages/15992/overview

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthemis

 

www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/slater-mu...

 

Paulson, Dennis R. (2009). Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West (press.princeton.edu/titles/8871.html)

 

PROJECT NOAH (Português): www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1250308640

2,728 views
25 faves
4 comments
Uploaded on July 12, 2018
Taken on July 11, 2017