Cover photo by Alan Manson.
Find the Slender Bluet in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Coenagrionidae
Identification
Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal
Photo by Geoff Prosser
Small size
Length up to 32mm; Wingspan reaches 39mm.
The Slender Bluet is most like Africallagma glaucum (Swamp Bluet). The Slender Bluet is distinguishable from that species by its conspicuous, large, and connected postocular spots, and by the unique black notch-shaped marking on the top of segment seven.
Click here for more details on identification.
Habitat
The Slender Bluet frequents the fringes of streams, pools, and dams where there is a thick growth of tall grasses and forbs. It is usually found in fairly well-wooded areas.
The Slender Bluet is a mid-altitude species. It is generally found between 600 and 1200m above sea level.
Behaviour
The Slender Bluet perches near the top of grass stems over the water, where it is fairly conspicuous.
On the wing mainly from September to April, but may fly all year in places. See Phenology below.
Status and Conservation
The Slender Bluet is scarce and localised in South Africa. It is listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution
The Slender Bluet has been found in Angola, the southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and eastern South Africa.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Slender Bluet in the OdonataMAP database as at February 2020.
Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Slender 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.
Phenology
Further Resources
The use of photographs by Alan Manson and Geoff Prosser is acknowledged.
Slender Bluet Africallagma fractum (Ris, 1921)
Other common names: Slanke Bloutjie (Afrikaans)
Recommended citation format: Loftie-Eaton M; Navarro R; Tippett RM; Underhill L. 2025. Slender Bluet Africallagma fractum. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2020/04/21/slender-bluet-africallagma-fractum/
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
