Synthemis eustalacta

Swamp Tigertail at Acton, ACT

Synthemis eustalacta at Acton, ACT - 10 Jan 2020
Synthemis eustalacta at Acton, ACT - 10 Jan 2020
Request use of media

Identification history

Synthemis eustalacta 5 Apr 2020 HarveyPerkins
Adversaeschna brevistyla 4 Apr 2020 BIrdsinCanberra

Identify this sighting


Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

Sorry, the photo is from Jan and I am just uploading it now. The dragonfly was flying up and down a stretch of Sullivans Creek, occasionally flying at other dragonflies, even those of other species, but no mating observed.

2 comments

HarveyPerkins wrote:
   5 Apr 2020
Hi - the photos here are clearly of a male Swamp Tigertail, perched in characteristic pose. Your comment above, does, however, sound much like the behaviour of a Blue-spotted Hawker; although it could fit a Swamp Tigertail if the distances involved are relatively small (e.g.2-4 m) and the flight was essentially around a small section of heavily vegetated creek. A Blue-spotted Hawker would fly faster, higher, more directly, and over much larger distances (e.g 10-50 m, or even more, up and down the creek line). Given the time between sighting and posting, is there any chance you could be confusing two dragonflies that you saw?
   6 Apr 2020
Hi Harvey, Many thanks for your comments and the clarification. Yes, you are probably right. I thought I saw this dragonfly moving up and down the creek and was only able to get a shot once it stopped but I could be mistaken. It just seemed all the dragonflies I was looking at were doing much the same but they were flying too fast, and with too many turns, for me to truly know which one was doing what. Many thanks for the correct identification. The variety of dragonflies confuses me, especially when there are colour variations, but I do enjoy the challenge of photographing them. Again, many thanks for all that additional detail, that was really interesting. All the best.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Sighting information

Additional information

  • 25mm to 50mm Animal size

Species information

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Verified by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
1,898,437 sightings of 21,107 species in 9,314 locations from 12,954 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.