''Ischnura rubilio'', western golden dartlet, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
damselfly
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...
in the family
Coenagrionidae
The insect family Coenagrionidae is placed in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera.
The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, maki ...
. It is found in
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
.
Earlier it was considered as a subspecies of ''
Ischnura aurora
''Ischnura aurora'', the gossamer damselfy or golden dartlet and also known as the aurora bluetail, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae.
Adults
A small apple green damselfly with black thoracic stripes and blue tipped yell ...
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of ...
. There are strong differences in DNA between the Asian forms of the species and specimens from the Pacific. There is also some morphological differences; dorsal side of segment 8 and 9 are entirely blue in Asian forms compared to only 1/3 of length of segment 8 is blue in specimens from the Pacific. The form found in
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
is ''Ischnura aurora rubilio'' Selys, 1876 and is now considered as a good species, ''Ischnura rubilio''.
Description and habitat
It is a small apple green damselfly with black thoracic stripes, black capped olive green eyes, and blue tipped yellow tail. Its thorax is bronzed black color on dorsal side with narrow olive green antehumeral stripes. The lateral sides of the thorax is also pale olive green. The wing spots are different in fore and hind-wings. It is rose-red for its proximal half and transparent for the distal. Its abdomen is rusty-yellow, except for segments 8 to 10, which are azure blue. There is a large diamond-shaped spot on apical end of the dorsum side of segment 6. Segment 7 is broadly bronzed black on the dorsum. Segments 8 to 10 entirely azure blue. There is a broad black dorsal spot in segment 10. Anal appendages are pale brown, tipped with black. Female is more robust and less conspicuously marked than the male. Its abdomen is marked with a broad black dorsal stripe extending the whole length. The sides of the abdomen is yellowish red.
It breeds in weedy ponds, lakes and marshes.