Black-tailed Skimmer - a photo on Flickriver

            This Black-tailed Skimmer (Nesciothemis farinosa) I photographed at Catalina Bay (Cape Vidal NR), 19 March '09. Afterward when downloading the pix I noticed the tiny insects sitting on its wings, mostly along the veins, which leads me to believe that they are parasites. I estimate them to be around 1 mm long, immediately thinking they must be some of the smallest insects in existence.

Hmmm... not so... the race for smallest insect is between parasitic wasps and feather-winged beetles, creatures that are less than 0.2 mm long!

To get back to the hitched bugs... Ceratopogonid midges have been recorded from five dragonfly species in Sardinia, Italy. All ceratopogonids were females and almost all were in the last phase of the gonotrophic cycle (gravid females). Although a parasitic association cannot be excluded, no evidence was obtained of biting activity. The attachment to dragonflies of F. paludis (perhaps an autogenous species) might fit well with the hypothesis of a phoretic association which would favour the long range dispersal of the gravid females.

Close inspection of the hitched bugs show that they have wings, so maybe these are not similar to those found on Italian dragonflies.

The search for applicable info continues...

Taken on: March 19, 2009

Tags:

South Afriacn dragonfly

40D

Cape Vidal « less

Sets appears in: • Dragonflies

Camera: Canon EOS 40D, f/7.1, 1/400 sec, 180mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 40D
Aperture:	f/7.1
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	180mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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