English name:  small Skimmer

Like all members of the family Libellulidae, the male of the Small Skimmer also tends to stand in a prominent place for long hours, usually at the same lookout point to which he will return even if disturbed. While standing thus he waits for a female to pass through his territory.
 Members of the genus Orthetrum tend to stand on 4 legs, with the front pair of legs folded behind the head.

Size:  small ( 3-4 cm).
Habitat:  small ponds and slowly flowing streams.
Tends to rest on stones on the ground.

Distribution: In Asia from northern India and Nepal to the Middle East, and in Africa from North Africa south to Nigeria.
In Israel it is an extremely rare visitor in the Ein Gedi area.

Identification features:
Male-  The light blue color of the males comes from a bluish powder that covers their bodies when they are adult.
The eye is dark blue in the upper part and light in the lower part.
The membranula is dark near the body and light farther from it

The young are similar to females.

Female-   The thorax color is yellow-brown and on its sides there are two light stripes, outlined in black on their front side.
Light shoulder stripes outlined in black.
The abdomen is yellow-brown with a black stripe along the upper part of the sides of the abdomen.
 

Similar species:
Male- almost all members of the genus Orthetrum are very similar to one another.
Female- almost all females of the family Libellulidae are very similar and attention must be paid to details to distinguish between them.

Small Skimmer Orthetrum Taeniolatum- female (and why in India)      © Benoît Guillon

Small Skimmer- male (photographed in Cyprus) © Matt Smith