crimson marsh glider and its pruinescence

Crimson marsh gliders are crimson, and frequent visitors to marshlands.

crimson marsh glider, trithemis aurora

Well, it is the male who is crimson, and the female (below) adorns totally different colors.

crimson marsh glider, female

Why do the male crimsons have its bright color? Pruinescence, as it is called, is the dusty bright coloration of the dragonfly’s outer shell (cuticle). This is due to the property of the particles on the cuticle which might be scattering some colors more than others – tyndall scattering.

Different reasons are attributed to the pruinescence in dragonflies. Among some dragonflies, males display the pruinescence to other males as a territorial threat. A  few others use pruinescence to recognize members of their own species or to cool their bodies by reflecting radiation away. Though many dragonflies have their pruinescence on the back of their abdomen, in some species it may cover almost the whole body, and often increases its intensity and extent with age.

Below is a crimson along with a pied paddy skimmer (the black/white)

crimson marsh glider, trithemis aurora

Species: trithemis aurora Family: aeshnidae
Common Name: Crimson Marsh Glider
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala

Reference:
Robey, C. W., 1975. Observations on breeding behavior of Pachydiplax longipennis (Odonata: Libellulidae). Psyche, 82, 89-96.

10 Responses

  1. Chris Ward says:

    I took a photo yesterday of beautiful pink dragonfly, which if I am correct appears to be a pink glider. I am not an expert, but would like to know if they are found in Europe as I took the photo in the Dordogne department in France. Thank you for any info, Chris Ward

  2. Rison says:

    It is not a Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora) Female. It is a Greater Crimson Glider (Urothemis signata) Female.

  3. wonderfull pictures collections (y)

  4. wow nice snaps. Nice to know the concepts why dragon flies have different colours.
    Thank you for the share.

  5. Passante says:

    I stumbled on your site while looking up an embroidery stitch and from there, I somehow landed on this page. am so glad I did because I now know what the insect is called that I saw in Nepal a couple of years ago. I’d been calling it a red dragonfly! It wasn’t anywhere near a marsh or any water. I wish I knew how to upload the photo I took so you could tell me for sure.

  6. that was interesting. nice clicks too.

  7. Deepa sasi says:

    Roxy I think you must get introduced to my brother . He is a bird watcher and works as a naturalist @ taj safaris. At least you could share informations

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