Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage
 

Tholymis tillarga

Karakara‘avai

Blue-flash Dragonfly

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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Open this image in pop-up window Image: Male specimen (1) 45KB
Open this image in pop-up window Image: Male specimen (2) 53KB
Open this image in pop-up window Image: Female specimen 92KB
Open this image in pop-up window Image: Nymph in water 77KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Blue-flash Dragonfly

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pepe (PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Africa - se.Asia - Indonesia/Australia - w.Pacific to Cooks - ?

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - widespread; ?; Land, lowlands, young in Freshwater

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Biocontrol - natural

KEY FEATURES: A medium-sized dragonfly - wingspan 7cm, body 4cm. MALE: BODY thorax brown and abdomen red. WINGS transparent pale brown, slightly darker towards the base; HINDWING anterior half, inner-central dark brown blotch adjacent to an outer-central transparent blue blotch (~5mmØ) which is conspicuous during flight. Wingtip-rectangle red-brown. FEMALE: THORAX sides olive green; ABDOMEN top brown, underside olive green; WINGS coppery sheen without blue blotch. Male and female active at dusk, often very low-flying; male more conspicuous because of the blue on the wings.

Enlarged Image of 'Tholymis tillarga'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR 
MG
AT
MK
MT
AK
PL
TK
MN
++
P

Northern Group:
TN 
MH
RK
PK
NS
SW
+

Key to Symbols

Scientific Taxonomy

Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798)
SYNONYMS: Libellula tillarga Fabricius, 1798; Libellula pallida Palisot de Beauvois, 1805; Libellula bimaculata Desjardins, 1835

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Odonata; Anisoptera; LIBELLULIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: specimens 9/1937, C.E.Clarke, reported Wise (1980); specimens, 1950-51, in Lieftinck 1953. Atiu: fieldsighting, NBSAP visit, GMcC. Pukapuka: specimens+photo, 2/2004, rare over Taro pondfields, ID GMcC.

References:
Special Reference: Wise, 1980: Records of South Pacific Dragonflies (Hexapoda: Odonata). Rec. Auckland Inst. Mus. 17:175-178

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02, zupD04a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org. Copy citation to system clipboard
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