Barbet Percher (Diplacodes luminans)

Cover photo by John Wilkinson.

Find this species in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.

Family Libellulidae

Identification

Small size

Length up to 40mm; Wingspan reaches 66mm.

Male Barbet Perchers are unmistakable with their distinctive bright red, yellow, and black colouration.

Females are very similar to Diplacodes lefebvrii (Black Percher) females, but can be distinguished by having horizontal stripes along the sides at the base of the abdomen.

Click here for more details on identification.

Habitat

The Barbet Percher inhabits a variety of still-water environments especially floodplains and marshes with well-vegetated pools. It also occurs at grass and sedge-lined pans, lakes, and dams. The Barbet Percher can on occasion also be found along the marshy fringes of rivers.

Behaviour

Male Barbet Perchers sit conspicuously at the tips of reeds and sedges over the water. Their flight is fast and darting and they quickly return to a perch. Females can be found in the same vicinity as the males but they are more common a short distance from the water among trees and bushes.

Status and Conservation

In southern Africa, the Barbet Percher is a common, but localised dragonfly. It is listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Barbet Percher is adaptable and fairly resistant to habitat degradation. It occurs commonly at well-vegetated man-made habitats.

Distribution

The Barbet Percher is widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, avoiding only the most arid regions. In South Africa, the Barbet Percher is mostly restricted to the warmer and wetter north and east.

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

Below is a map showing the distribution of records for Barbet Percher in the OdonataMAP database as of December 2025

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 Richard Johnstone is acknowledged. All other photographs by Ryan Tippett.

Barbet Percher Diplacodes luminans (Karsch, 1893)

Other common names: Baardmannetjie (Afrikaans)

Recommended citation format: Loftie-Eaton M; Navarro R; Tippett RM; Underhill L. 2025. Barbet Percher Diplacodes luminans. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2020/06/17/barbet-percher-diplacodes-luminans/

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.