Cover photo by Alf Taylor.
Find the Peak Bluet in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Coenagrionidae
Identification
Monk’s Cowl, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Evert Kleynhans
Small size
Length up to 36mm; Wingspan attains 37mm.
The Peak Bluet is a small blue, green, and black damselfly. It is the most elongated Bluet in the region. The very long slender abdomen and distinctive clasper shape should rule out any confusion with other species.
The Peak Bluet is most similar to the Slender Bluet (Africallagma fractum). The Peak Bluet is more elongate and has a greenish hue on the upper thorax. It also has distinctively shaped claspers.
Click here for more details on identification.
Habitat
The Peak Bluet is a species of the grassland biome. It occurs in open, mountainous regions with high rainfall where it inhabits the grassy fringes of seeps and streams. The Peak Bluet is mostly found between 1000 to 2000m above sea level.
Behaviour
The Peak Bluet usually perches on grass stems over the water, it may occasionally also be seen seen sitting on rocks in the stream.
The Peak Bluet is on the wing from September to March.
Status and Conservation
The Peak Bluet is uncommon and localised in South Africa. It is listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution
Africallagma sinuatum has a disjunct distribution in south-east Africa and has been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Peak Bluet in the OdonataMAP database as of February 2020.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Peak Bluet in the OdonataMAP database as of December 2024.
The next map below is an imputed map, produced by an interpolation algorithm, which attempts to generate a full distribution map from the partial information in the map above. This map will be improved by the submission of records to the OdonataMAP section of the Virtual Museum.
Ultimately, we will produce a series of maps for all the odonata species in the region. The current algorithm is a new algorithm. The objective is mainly to produce “smoothed” maps that could go into a field guide for odonata. This basic version of the algorithm (as mapped above) does not make use of “explanatory variables” (e.g. altitude, terrain roughness, presence of freshwater — we will be producing maps that take these variables into account soon). Currently, it only makes use of the OdonataMAP records for the species being mapped, as well as all the other records of all other species. The basic maps are “optimistic” and will generally show ranges to be larger than what they probably are. These maps use the data in the OdonataMAP section of the Virtual Museum, and also the database assembled by the previous JRS funded project, which was led by Professor Michael Samways and Dr KD Dijkstra.
Further Resources
The use of photographs by Evert Kleynhans and Lappies Labuschagne is acknowledged.
Peak Bluet Africallagma sinuatum (Ris, 1921)
Other Common names: Spitsbloutjie (Afrikaans).
Recommended citation format: Loftie-Eaton M; Navarro R; Tippett RM; Underhill L. 2025. Peak Bluet Africallagma sinuatum. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2020/04/17/peak-bluet-africallagma-sinuatum/
References: Tarboton, M; Tarboton, W. (2019). A Guide to the Dragonflies & Damselflies of South Africa. Struik Nature.
Samways, MJ. (2008). Dragonflies and Damselflies of South Africa. Pensoft
Samways, MJ. (2016). Manual of Freshwater Assessment for South Africa: Dragonfly Biotic Index.Suricata 2. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria
