Dragonflies & DamselfliesDragonfly or Damselfly? Sex Lives and Dragonflies Damselflies Diplacodes haematodes Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher) Hemicordulia tau Orthetrum caledonicum Orthetrum migratum Orthetrum villosovittatum

Commonly known as the Black-faced Percher or Blackfaced Percher, the species Diplacodes melanopsis is a small dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. They are found on the Australian mainland from Brisbane to the South Australian-Victorian border.

The Diplacodes melanopsis mature males have a black face and front of its body, and a red abdomen with black markings; whilst the females are amber and yellow with black markings.

Male Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher), Wandella NSW © Deb Taylor
Male Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher), Wandella NSW © Deb Taylor
Male Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher), Wandella NSW © Deb Taylor
Male Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher), Wandella NSW © Deb Taylor
Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher), Bermagui NSW © Deb Taylor
Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher), Bermagui NSW © Deb Taylor

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Odonata
  • Suborder: Anisoptera
  • Superfamily: Libelluloidea
  • Family: Libellulidae
  • Genus: Diplacodes
  • Species: Diplacodes melanopsis

Footnote & References

  1. Black-faced Percher (Diplacodes melanopsis), debtaylor142, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations?place_id=any&subview=map&taxon_id=323677&user_id=debtaylor142&verifiable=any&view=species
  2. Black-faced Percher (Diplacodes melanopsis), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/323677-Diplacodes-melanopsis
  3. Diplacodes melanopsis (Martin, 1901), Blackfaced Percher Dragonfly, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Diplacodes melanopsis

Dragonflies & DamselfliesDragonfly or Damselfly? Sex Lives and Dragonflies Damselflies Diplacodes haematodes Diplacodes melanopsis (Black-faced Percher) Hemicordulia tau Orthetrum caledonicum Orthetrum migratum Orthetrum villosovittatum

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