Whilst birding in Taif I
found a bright red colour dragonfly flying over and perched near a small
flowing stream. The Carmine Darter Crocothemis
erythraea is a common and numerous dragonfly throughout the Middle East,
including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. The adult male has a bright
orange red to carmine red, widened abdomen, and small yellowish-amber patches
at the bases of the hind wings. Pterostigma are yellow. The male is carmine
red, while the female is a significantly drabber yellow-buff colour with two
paler marks on top of the thorax. It is a medium-sized dragonfly approximately
52mm in length. The abdomen is wider than other members of the family,
flattened and tapering to the end. It is widespread in the Arabian Peninsula
where it prefers a habitat of rocky areas and dry watercourses as well as
shallow, still, eutrophic waters such as small ponds, paddy fields, and desert
pools, but it avoids oases. Adults only live for up to two months. Adults spend
much of their time perched on vegetation although they have a fast, darting
flight and hover frequently.
