Pinhey’s Wisp (Agriocnemis pinheyi)

Pinhey’s Wisp, Agriocnemis pinheyi, Pinhey-soetjie

Male Mature

Short Description:

Pinhey’s Wisp, Agriocnemis pinheyi, Pinhey-soetjie Minute with a black head and small, oval postocular spots, a shiny black thorax with a fine light green stripe,and a black abdomen with a bright orange tip.

Family Coenagrionidae Kirby, 1890

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Male

1 1622 Agriocnemis pinheyi Pinheys Wisp Green Female Hertzogberg MP RSA Febr RSA Jan 2020r 5 Female Mature

1 1630 Agriocnemis pinheyi Pinheys Wisp Orange Female Hertzogberg MP RSA Febr RSA Jan 2020f 7 Female Orange

Agriocnemis pinheyi Pinheys Wisp Orange1 Female Hertzogberg MP RSA Febr RSA Jan 2020r 1 Female Mature

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Key identification features:

Size

Length18_20_21mm (♂): 20-21-23mm (♀) Wingspan 20-21-22mm (♂) 24-25-26mm (♂)

Male:

Face mostly black with unbroken lime green moustache. Labrum shiny black with lime green border, not metallic. Anteclypeus light green.Postclypeus shiny black, not metallic. Cheeks lime green. Lower part of frons (the moustache unbroken from eye to eye and lime green. Head velvety black above with bronze sheen. Postocular spots small, oval, sharp-edged, bright bluish green. Face may pruinose to white with age.
Eyes black above, light green below. Neck velvety black with very fine, yellowish green margins.
Thorax velvety to shiny black with very fine yellowish green shoulder stripes,lower sides light green. Wings clear. Pterostigmas ranging from yellow to dark greyish brown depending on age and sex.
Abdomen shiny black above with the black petering out on segment 8 and finally on segment 9. Sides of segments 1 to 6 lime green. Beginning of segment 7 lime green on the side, becoming bright orange towards back. Segment 8 bright orange. Most of segment 9 and entire segment 10 bright orange. Segments 8 - 10 become black on top with green sides. Appendages orange with black tips, but may be black and green with age.

Female:

Various colour forms, ranging from blackish red with black band on top of head and black thorax through to brown above and green below.

Compared with other species:

Agriocnemis pinheyi, A. exilis (Little Wisp), and A. gratiosa (Gracious Wisp) are similar.
A. pinheyi intermediate in size between the smaller A. exilis and the larger A. gratiosa.
A. gratiosa and A. pinheyi has postocular spots intermediate in size between the smaller ones of A. exilis, and the larger ones of A. gratiosa.
A. pinheyi has a fine, thorax shoulder stripe like A. exilis, but not the wider stripe of A. gratiosa
A. pinheyi with unbroken light green moustache runs from eye to eye. Usually in A. exilis but always in A. gratiosa it is broken by a black division
The dorsal, black, abdominal stripe of A. pinheyi tapers in S8 as it does in A. gratiosa and usually S7, but sometimes S8, in A. exilis.
A. pinheyi appendages are distinctive with a downward-pointing horn on the inferior appendages ending in a small, slightly upturned hook. Diagnostic

Habitat:

Around standing waters, shallow pools, dams well grassed mash areas next to the dam, as well as in marshes and still reaches of rivers in open landscapes. Often where there is emergent and aquatic vegetation, abundance of grasses, sedges and some reeds.
From 600 to 2100 m above sea level, but mostly between 1000 and 1800.

Behaviour:

Perches low down in the dense vegetation, often close to the water surface, with its head upwards and abdomen slanting downwards. Difficult to observe. Reluctant to fly