Scarlet Percher Dragonfly - Diplacodes haematodes
FAMILY LIBELLULIDAE - Skimmers
This page contains information and pictures about Scarlet Percher Dragonflies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Male, Body length 35mm
The male Scarlet Percher has the red eyes, red face, red thorax and red abdomen. There are no markings on their abdomen. There are also the reddish suffusions on the wing bases. There is another small red dragonfly common in Brisbane, the Common Percher, may be confused with them.
- Female. body length 35mm
- This female dragonfly look nothing like the male. It is pale yellow in colour with black patterns on abdomen. This is a good example of the sexual dimorphism among dragonflies.
- This dragonfly like to perch on creek stone or sand bed, as most other dragonflies will not do. They can be found near the ponds along Bulimba Creek in Brisbane.
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- They lay eggs in tandem, the female dips her end of abdomen into the water quickly.
- We sometimes found the female far away form fresh water. We took the first picture in a mid winter evening in our friend's backyard. The dragonfly rested there for the whole night. It flied away in the next morning after the sun warms it up. The second picture show the female dragonfly get caught in a spider web, to see details please click here.
- Photo : Travis Hargreaves, Perth
- Scarlet Percher is common in Brisbane, Queensland. Our visitor Travis Hargreaves sent us the about picture showing that the dragonfly can also be found in Perth, West Australia. It was photographed in bushland near Helena Valley East of Perth, early December.
- Scarlet Percher Dragonfly wings
