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Flame-tailed Pondhawk

Mature males of this distinctive pondhaw k have bright red abdomens contrasting with a darker black thorax. The face is black with the top of the frons yellow in young males and females. The thorax is dark in young males and females with a broad stripe of yellow dorsally. The legs are black. The wings are clear with a small, narrow spot at the base of the hindwing. Abdominal segments 1-3 are swollen and the rest of the abdomen gradually tapers to 9. The abdomen becomes brilliant red, more so dorsally, in older males. The cerci are red.

Total length: 37-43 mm; abdomen: 23-28 mm; hindwing: 29-34 mm.

No other dragonfly in the region has the distinctive red abdomen contrasting with a black thorax as seen in this species.

Ponds, lakes, ditches and slow reaches of rivers and streams.

This species is only known from a single locality in the Texas Hill Country within North America, where it was only recently discovered (summer 2001). The presence of multiple individuals there suggests a breeding population, though it must have only recently moved into the area. It is a common ubiquitous species in the tropics and may become well-established in southern Texas. This species behaves like other pondhawks in the south-central United States. The bright red abdomen of males contrasts with green vegetation where they occasionally perch.

Texas Hill Country south through Latin America to Argentina.

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