Orange-Winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi)
• English name: Orange-Winged Dropwing
• German name: Feuerroter Sonnenzeiger
• French name: Trithémis de Kirby
• Dutch name: Oranje zonnewijzer
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Obelisco purpureo
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: N/A
• Bulgarian name: N/A
Orange-Winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi)
Not present
Present before 1990
Present after 1990
Present before and after 1990
Present after 2015
Map data based on J.-P. Boudot & V. J. Kalkman (eds.),
Atlas of the European Dragonflies and Damselflies
| General | ➤ a small species which in Europe occurs mainly in Spain | |
| Classification | • suborder: Anisoptera (dragonflies); family: Libellulidae | |
| Conservation status | • IUCN Red List Europe: Not Evaluated | |
| Scientific name | • Trithemis kirbyi Selys, 1891 | |
| Distribution | • click or tap the Map button above | |
| Habitat | • small, sunny streams | |
| Dimensions | • typical body length: 30-34 mm; hindwing: 23-29 mm | |
| Notes | • libellulids are 'sitters': males spend a lot of time perched at the water's edge, waiting for females | |
| • Trithemis species tend to perch with their wings folded forward | ||
| • immature males are coloured like females | ||
| ➤ much smaller than the similarly all-red Crocothemis erythraea | ||
| Both sexes | Wings | ➤ the forewing and hindwing bear a very large orange patch at the base |
| Male | Thorax | • the thorax is completely red |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is red with, at most, a few small black spots on S8 and S9 | |
| • the abdomen is broad and flattened in shape | ||
| Wings | • the veins are red | |
| Female | Thorax | • the thorax is whitish yellow with thin black lines on the side |
| Abdomen | • the abdomen is brown-yellow with thin black stripes laterally and, on S8-S9, also dorsally | |
| Photographs | • our photos below were made in Andalusia, Valencia and Tunisia |
LineDrawing: the male's abdomen and the female's abdomen in dorsal view.
