Orthetrum villosovittatum (Fiery Skimmer)
Orthetrum villosovittatum is somewhat more of a challenge to say than to find. Fiery Skimmer is much more user-friendly until you’ve had a bit of practice, though I’m not sure I think “fiery” very suitable given that the abdomen seems to be on the pink side of red. According to Theischinger/Hawking, it “inhabits streams, boggy seepages, lakes, ponds, swamps and trickles”. Well, that would cover most habitats so it is perhaps not surprising that we encountered it frequently on both our 2019 Queensland and FNQ 2022 excursions. Its range is pretty much all of northern and eastern Australia, as well as Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Id notes
- ♂ – waisted pinky-red abdomen
- ♀ – orange-grey abdomen
- mottled blue-grey eyes
- thorax more or less uniform grey-brown
- hind-wing roots suffused with small yellow patch surrounding a dark slivver
| immature male |
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