Agriocnemis pygmaea explained

Agriocnemis pygmaea (pygmy wisp)^[1] is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.^[2] It is also known as wandering midget, pygmy dartlet or wandering wisp. It is well distributed across Asia and parts of Australia.^[3]

Description and habitat

It is a small damselfly with black capped green eyes, black thorax with apple green stripes on lateral sides. Segments 1 to 7 of its abdomen is black on dorsum and pale green on ventral half. The remaining segments are orange-red. Very old males may get pruinosed on the dorsum of the head and the thorax with snowy white, making all the markings beneath being quite obscured. Female is more robust and exhibits several color morphs. The green color of the male is replaced by red in the females in the red forms. In androchrome forms, the female has same green colors as in the male. Female colour variation is depended on ontogenic colour changeassociated with sexual development too.^[4]

It breeds in marshes and ponds.^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Etymology

The species name pygmaea is from the Greek word for pygmy. In 1842, Jules Pierre Rambur, writing in Latin, started his description of this damselfly: Minimum obscure viridi aenum - very small dark green copper.^[10]

See also

• List of odonates of India
• List of odonata of Kerala
• List of Odonata species of Australia

Notes and References

1. Book: The Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia. Theischinger. Günther. Hawking. John. CSIRO Publishing. 2006. 978-0-64309-073-6. Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. 102.
2. Web site: Species Agriocnemis pygmaea (Rambur, 1842). 2012. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. 6 April 2017.
3. Book: K.A. . Subramanian . K.G. . Emiliyamma . R. . Babu . C. . Radhakrishnan . S.S. . Talmale . Atlas of Odonata (Insecta) of the Western Ghats, India . 2018 . Zoological Survey of India . 9788181714954. 142–143.
4. Joshi . Shantanu . Agashe . Deepa . Ontogenic colour change, survival, and mating in the damselfly Agriocnemis pygmaea Rambur (Insecta: Odonata) . Ecological Entomology . 2020 . 45 . 5 . 1015–1024 . 10.1111/een.12879 . 2020EcoEn..45.1015J . 1 May 2020.
5. Book: C FC Lt. Fraser. Frederic Charles Fraser. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. I. Taylor and Francis. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London. 1933. 398-401.
6. Book: C FC Lt. Fraser. Frederic Charles Fraser. A Survey of the Odonate (Dragonfly) Fauna of Western India and Descriptions of Thirty New Species. 1924. 490.
7. Book: Subramanian, K. A.. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India - A Field Guide. 2005.
8. Web site: Agriocnemis pygmaea Rambur, 1842. India Biodiversity Portal. 2017-02-26.
9. Web site: Agriocnemis pygmaea Rambur, 1842. Odonata of India, v. 1.00. Indian Foundation for Butterflies. 2017-02-26.
10. Book: Endersby . Ian . Fliedner . Heinrich . The Naming of Australia's Dragonflies . 2015 . Busybird Publishing . Eltham, Victoria, Australia . 9781925260625 .