Trithemis festiva

The Indigo Dropwing (Trithemis festiva) is a tropical Asian species which occurs on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Cyprus. In size and behaviour it's quite similar to the more widely distributed Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata), but its habitat preference and looks are very different; the species clearly prefers running rather than still waters and males can typically be seen resting on rocks or stream-side vegetation, guarding their territories. Mature male Trithemis festiva are entirely dark (i.e. dark blue rather than black) overlaid with a fine whitish pruinescence. Young males look similar to females, sporting extensive yellow patches on their abdomen. In addition, females especially often have extensive dark patches at the wing tips.

For an overview of the Indigo Dropwing's distribution in Europe, hover your mouse pointer over the map symbol .
With the authors' permission we have based this map on data published in Kalkman et al. (2010).

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