| Nannophya pygmaea (Rambur, 1842),
known variously as the Scarlet Dwarf, Northern Pygmyfly, or Tiny Dragonfly,
is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native from Southeast Asia to
China and Japan, occasionally found south to Australia. This species has
the distinction of being the smallest of the dragonflies, with a wingspan
of only 20 mm.
Nannophya pygmaea is one of the smallest
dragonfly species in the world. In males, the hindwing is 12 to 13 mm in
length and the total body length ranges from 16 to 17 mm. The mature male
is almost entire red particularly on its eyes and body, but the female
is rather dark brown and has bands of brown and white on the abdomen. The
immature males is yellowish brown in colour that is similar to that of
immatured female. The bases of hindwings and forewings are yellow tinted.
Nannophya pygmaea prefers stagnant open water (such as open swamp and marsh)
with grassy vegetation. It is strictly a forest species. The adult male
will defend a small territory of only about one metre square. An interesting
study on its territorial mating behaviour revealed that variations in male
mating success is correlated more to the number of sunny days and less
on male size.
It is one of the most widespread
Asian species occurring from the Indian Peninsula to Australia. It is not
threatened and is assessed by IUCN Red List as Least Concern. .
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_Dwarf
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/737
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/167187/0
|