| Common Name: | Tau Emerald |
Distribution
Female
Male
Tau Face
more photos
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| Scientific Name: | Hemicordula tau (Selys, 1871) |
| Distribution: | Common throughout southern Australia, including Tasmania and high altitudes.
This dragonfly seems to prefer an open canopy. |
| Description: | These are medium sized dragonflies predominantly black
(sometimes metallic) and yellow or orange–yellow; eyes ere usually orange–red to red–brown.
The abdomen (tail) of males of this species are pinched at the base and slightly flattened
while the females have a more solid abdomen, tapering slightly along its length.
They have pale yellow–orange to brown leading edges to the wings and pterostigma and an inverted "T"-shape on the face (giving the species its name) —
clearly visible in the last image. |
| Similar Species: | Hamicordula australiae
are very similar but they have dark leading edges to the wings and pterostigma and
a dark patch on the face rather than a distinct "T".
Some other Hemicordiliae and Procordulia species are similar but can readily be separated
by the shape and consistency of the shapes along the abdomen
(and Procordulia are mostly limited to swamps and bogs). |
| Habitat: | Inhabits a wide range of still and, to a lesser extent,
slow flowing water, including temporary ponds.
Adults are vagrants that disperse widely and can readily be found in swarms away from water. |
| Behaviour: | They can be found flying almost continuously during the right conditions (even at night),
mostly over still water or in open ground in thinly wooded forests.
They perch hanging vertically from vegetation at any height.
The pair separate after mating and females oviposit in flight, dipping their tail briefly into water. |
| Observations: |
This is a very common species in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and southern parts of South Australia and Western Australia
(though it can be found elsewhere except the far north) and would be one of the most commonly encountered species.
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| Links & References: |
More information and photos of this species can readily be found on the internet, including the links below.
Wildiaries
Brisbane Dragonflies
Esperance Fauna
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