Zygonyx torridus
• Scientific name: Zygonyx torridus (Kirby, 1889)
• English name: Ringed Cascader
• German name: Gefleckter Wasserfallkreuzer
• French name: N/A
• Dutch name: Watervallibel
• Swedish name: N/A
• Norwegian name: N/A
• Finnish name: N/A
• Danish name: N/A
• Italian name: Freccia di cascata
• Czech name: N/A
• Slovenian name: N/A
• Bulgarian name: N/A
• Typical length: 50-60 mm
• Hindwing: 45-50 mm
Textbooks had warned us that the male Ringed Cascader (Zygonyx torridus) will fly endlessly and tirelessly over waterfalls and rapids to defend his territory against other males and to look out for visiting females. And indeed, on some occasions we had to wait a full eight hours for one of the dozen or so males (each holding roughly a 30-yard territory) to settle down and allow us to get close enough for a decent photograph. The two sexes look very similar, but the male's thorax is slightly darker and he has less yellow on abdominal segments 1 and 2. While we didn't get a chance to photograph a single female (they proved impossible to find), we were very fortunate to observe the species' ovipositing behaviour. Zygonyx torridus is said to be quite common throughout tropical Africa but its presence in Europe is very limited; in Sicily three individuals were caught in 1976 and two males were observed in 2010. On the Canary Islands and in the Valencia area the species is reportedly fairly common. And it is certainly quite common and numerous in Southern Spain (Andalusia), where we made our photographs. [Update: some of the photographs below are taken from a field trip to the Canary Islands in May/June 2014. Please note the female in Dr1523 and Dr1538 who is ovipositing while resting on some vegetation. She had started ovipositing in tandem a few minutes earlier but because of the very strong and blustery wind the tandem had become separated. The female continued to fly low over the water, with the male hovering nearby (by way of non-contact guarding). He soon gave up though, probably because it proved too difficult or tiring to hold his mid-air position. The female then started looking for a patch of emergent vegetation on which to settle down, and then (presumably) released her eggs by rubbing her abdomen in some wet mosses.]
