''Macromia bellicosa''
is a species of
dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...
in the family
Macromiidae
The insect family Macromiidae contains the dragonfly species known as cruisers or skimmers. They tend to fly over bodies of water (and roads) straight down the middle. They are similar to Aeshnidae in size, but the eyes are green and just barely ...
. It is an
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
dragonfly and found only in
Western Ghats in
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
. It breeds in hill streams.
Description
It is a medium-sized dragonfly with greenish eyes. Its thorax is metallic bluish-green marked with citron-yellow. There is a short humeral stripe, an oblique narrow stripe on mesepimeron, a narrow stripe on the posterior border of metepimeron, and a narrow stripe traversing the sinus. Abdomen is black, marked with citron-yellow. There is a broad basal annule on segment 2 separated from the base on mid-dorsum and laterally by two black spots. Segment 3 has a narrow annule and a large baso-lateral spot. Segments 4 to 6 have similar but gradually narrowing annules. Segment 7 has the basal half yellow. Segment 8 has a very narrow basal ring. Segments 9 and 10 are unmarked. Anal appendages are dark ochreous.
[
It can be distinguished from '' Macromia flavicincta'' by the restricted yellow markings here.]
See also
* List of odonates of India
The following is a list of the odonata, dragonflies and damselflies found in India.
Aeshnidae
* ''Aeshna''
** ''Aeshna flavifrons'' Lichtenstein, 1976
** ''Aeshna juncea mongolica''
** ''Aeshna mixta mixta'' Latreille, 1805
** ''Aeshna petalur ...
* List of odonata of Kerala
References
Macromiidae
Taxa named by Frederic Charles Fraser
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