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

Trithemis arteriosa
      Red-veined Dropwing
   Mantenga Mlawula

View photos in Biodiversity Explorer

Distribution: Very common and abundant throughout South Africa. To North Africa, Canaries and Asia Minor.
Body Length: 32-36 mm
Hind Wing Length: 26-27.5 mm
Habitat: Pools, dams, marshes and still and sluggish reaches of rivers.
Flight Period: All year, but more common in summer months.
Features: Small, slender, bright red, with bright red wing veins and black on side of tip of abdomen. Very common at still water throughout South Africa.
Comments: Occurrence in Eswatini confirmed by photos by Kate Braun, Tina Petterson, Pam Sai, Gerhard Diedericks and Wilna Steenkamp, and by SA damselflies and dragonflies checklist (Durban Natural Science Museum, 2000).

108 records, from 4/22/2011 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.