Orthetrum julia

Orthetrum julia, the Julia skimmer is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.

Immature male, uMkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Orthetrum julia
Male, uMkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Female, Ithala Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Infraorder: Anisoptera
Family: Libellulidae
Genus: Orthetrum
Species:
O. julia
Binomial name
Orthetrum julia
Kirby, 1900

Distribution and status

It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Burundi, and possibly Madagascar.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, and freshwater springs.

Similar species
Wing detail of O. julia falsum (top) and O. stemmale

Orthetrum stemmale appears similar to O. julia falsum in south-eastern Africa. The important differences are in wing details shown in the figure (left). O. julia falsum (top) has dark subcostal Ax and has one row of cells in the radial planate (generally less than 10 cells doubled - summed over the radial planates of the four wings).[2] This example shows a single doubled cell on each wing. O. stemmale (bottom) has pale subcostal Ax and usually at least ten cells doubled in total over the four wings[2] - this example shows three doubled cells in the radial planate of the forewing. The pterostigma of O. julia falsum is generally dark, whereas that of O. stemmale is pale.

References
  1. Clausnitzer, V.; Dijkstra, K.-D.B. & Suhling, F. (2016). "Orthetrum julia". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T59958A83858020. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T59958A83858020.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. Dijkstra, K.-D.B.; Clausnitzer, V. (2014). The dragonflies and damselflies of eastern Africa. Tervuren: Royal Museum for Central Africa. ISBN 978-94-916-1506-1.


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