Phantom Flutterer (Rhyothemis semihyalina)

Cover photo by Phillip Nieuwoudt.

Find the Phantom Flutterer in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.

Family Libellulidae

Identification

Small to medium sized

Length up to 36mm; Wingspan attains 70mm.

The Phantom Flutterer is a highly distinctive and recognisable species. It is unlikely to be confused with any other dragonfly. The broad, metallic purple panel in each hindwing is distinctive.

The sexes are alike.

Click here for more details on identification of the Phantom Flutterer.

Habitat

The Phantom Flutterer inhabits still-water habitats like marshes, floodplains, pans, and slow-moving rivers. It prefers sites that are rich in emergent reeds, grasses, sedges, and water lilies. The Phantom Flutterer utilises both permanent and ephemeral waterbodies and is mostly confined to the warmer regions.

It occurs up to 1000m above sea level but is most numerous at lower altitudes.

Behaviour

The Phantom Flutterer is usually seen perched on a plant stem at a sunny site over the water. It most often sits with the abdomen pointed downwards at a 45 degree angle. The Phantom Flutterer has a fast butterfly-like flight. Non-breeding individuals can sometimes be seen in the tree-tops away from water in the surrounding woodlands. The Phantom Flutterer is sometimes gregarious, hovering above clouds of tiny swarming insects, in woodland clearings or over the water. Both sexes occur in the same vicinity.

Rhyothemis semihyalina is mostly on the wing from October to April.

Status and Conservation

The Phantom Flutterer is often localised but is generally common where it occurs. It is listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Phantom Flutterer is fairly resistant to habitat degradation and frequently makes use of suitable man-made habitats such as ornamental ponds and farm dams. It is showing signs of increasing in abundance in the Eastern and Western Cape, and possibly also the central regions of South Africa.

Distribution

Rhyothemis semihyalina is widely distributed throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, including West, Central, East and Southern Africa. It also occurs in parts of the Middle East, as well as Madagascar and many of the Indian Ocean islands. In South Africa, the Phantom Flutterer occurs mostly in the hot savanna regions of the Northern and Eastern provinces, and along the eastern coastal strip.

Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Phantom Flutterer in the OdonataMAP database as at February 2020.

Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Phantom Flutterer 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 Phillip Nieuwoudt is acknowledged. All other photographs by Ryan Tippett.

Phantom Flutterer Rhyothemis semihyalina (Desjardins, 1832)

Type Locality: Mauritius, no locality data available.

Other common names: Fladdergesie (Afrikaans)

Recommended citation format: Loftie-Eaton M; Navarro R; Tippett RM; Underhill L. 2025. Phantom Flutterer Rhyothemis semihyalina. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2020/05/11/phantom-flutterer-rhyothemis-semihyalina/

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

Martens, A; Suhling, F. (2007). Dragonflies and Damselflies of Namibia. Gamsberg Macmillan.