UPDATED CHECKLIST: An Adobe pdf version of the checklist as at December 2018 is available here (click to view/download - approx 10 MB).

View lists of Odonata: Dragonflies and Damselflies by eighth degree grid square

Platycypha caligata
      Dancing Jewel
   Mlawula

View photos in Biodiversity Explorer

Distribution: Common along eastern seaboard and lowveld, with records from Eastern Cape Province and interior, 100-800 m a.s.l. Occasionally to 1500 m a.s.l. To Angola and Ethiopia.
Body Length: 31-33 mm
Hind Wing Length: 21.5-22 mm
Habitat: Bush-lined or tree-lined, shallow, rocky, permanent streams and rivers. Sometimes river pools and also open streams with tall grass margins.
Flight Period: December to May
Features: Small, stocky, colourful thorax, orange, red and black, abdomen brilliant blue, legs leaf-like and bright red and white. Swift, rocky, bush-lined streams and rivers East of Drakensberg.
Comments: Occurrence in Eswatini confirmed by photos by Kate Braun, Gerhard Diedericks, Pam Sai, M Maciver, Luke Kemp and Ernst Klimsa, and by SA damselflies and dragonflies checklist (Durban Natural Science Museum, 2000).

30 records, from 1/9/2007 to 10/20/2019

Information extracted from "Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa" by Michael J Samways, which also includes detailed descriptions of each species.