Bradinopyga geminata explained

Bradinopyga geminata is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae known commonly as the granite ghost. It is native to India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, where it is a common and widespread species.^[1]

Description and habitat

It is a medium sized dragonfly with brown-capped grey eyes. Its thorax is cinereous, marbled and peppered with black in a very irregular manner. Wings are transparent with dual color pterostigma, black at centre and pure white at distal and proximal ends. Abdomen is coloured very similarly to thorax; black marbled with yellow, but with a more definite plan. Segments 3 to 8 have pale basal annules interrupted on dorsum, and formed by two elongate parallel spots. There is a triangular apical sub-dorsal spot and a pale mid-dorsal spot. Anal appendages are creamy-white. Female is similar to the male.

Taking advantage of its cryptic coloration, it always rests flat on slab rock or cement-plastered walls, where it almost invisible. Adults occupy habitat near water bodies, such as pools, irrigation channels, wells, and containers with standing water. It breeds in rainy hollows in the rocks or in wells and small cemented tanks.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

The species has been studied as a predator of the disease-carrying yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti). The larvae of the dragonfly consume the larvae of the mosquito in the standing-water habitat types that both occupy.^[7]

See also

• List of odonates of Sri Lanka
• List of odonates of India
• List of odonata of Kerala

References

• A. Venkatesh and B.K. Tyagi. 2013. Predatory potential of Bradinopyga geminata and Ceriagrion coromandelianum larvae on dengue vector Aedes aegypti under controlled conditions (Anisoptera: Libellulidae; Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae; Diptera: Culicidae). Odonatologica 42(2): 139-149.
• A. Venkatesh and B.K. Tyagi. 2013. Capture efficiency of Bradinopyga geminata (Odonata: Libellulidae) against larvae of Aedes aegypti, Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Anopheles stephensi in laboratory condition. Journal of Basic and Applied Biology. 7:21-26.

Notes and References

1. 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. 312-313.
2. Book: C FC Lt. Fraser. Frederic Charles Fraser. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata Vol. III. Taylor and Francis. Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London. 1936. 349-350.
3. 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. 437.
4. Book: Subramanian, K. A.. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India - A Field Guide. 2005.
5. Web site: Bradinopyga geminata Rambur, 1842. India Biodiversity Portal. 2017-03-17.
6. Web site: Bradinopyga geminata Rambur, 1842. Odonata of India, v. 1.00. Indian Foundation for Butterflies. 2017-03-17.
7. Venkatesh, A., & Tyagi, B. K. (2015). Bradinopyga geminata (Anisoptera: Libellulidae) as a predator of Aedes aegypti immatures (Diptera: Culicidae). International Journal of Mosquito Research 2(2) 98-105.