''Agriocnemis falcifera'', the white-masked whisp, 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 ...
to southern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
This tiny damselfly is found in grassy fringes of ponds and pools and is gregarious.
It is 23–27 mm long with a wingspan of 23–30 mm. Males and females are similar; when immature they are initially all orange-red, with later stages orange-red on the terminal segments of the abdomen only; when mature, only the anal appendages are orange-red. The forehead has a whitish band that runs from eye to eye, and the small green post-ocular spots are connected across the back of the head.
References
External links
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''Agriocnemis falcifera''o
African Dragonflies and Damselflies Online
Coenagrionidae
Insects described in 1959
{{Coenagrionidae-stub