''Africallagma sapphirinum'', the sapphire bluet, is a species of

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

in the family

Coenagrionidae The insect family Coenagrionidae is placed in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, making i ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where it is locally common. This species is found in grassland, where its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is ponds and lakes with floating aquatic plants. This bluet is 24–28 mm long, with a wingspan of 26–33 mm. The

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

is sapphire-blue with black

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and antehumeral stripes. The

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is deep blue and black; segments one to five are mainly sapphire-blue with a discontinuous black dorsal stripe, segments eight and nine are blue and segments six, seven and ten are mostly black. A sapphirinum AManson 002072-1.jpg, Immature male A sapphirinum AManson 002072-3.jpg, Immature male Africallagma sapphirinum Sapphire Bluet 2013 02 22.jpg, Male A sapphirinum AManson 009146-1.jpg, Male A sapphirinum AManson 009147-2.jpg, Male abdomen A sapphirinum AManson 009147-3.jpg, Male head A sapphirinum AManson 011749-1.jpg, Mating pair A sapphirinum AManson 011749-2.jpg, Mating pair

References

Coenagrionidae Insects of South Africa Insects described in 1950 {{Coenagrionidae-stub