Chalcostephia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chalcostephia |
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| Female in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | |
| Conservation status | |
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Chalcostephia
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| Species: |
flavifrons
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The Chalcostephia flavifrons is a special type of dragonfly. It's the only species in its group, called Chalcostephia. People often call this dragonfly the yellowface or the inspector.
This amazing insect lives in central Africa. It can be found in many different places there. The yellowface dragonfly loves swampy areas. These are wet, marshy places. Sometimes, these swamps are drained for farming. This can affect the dragonfly's home. But don't worry, it is not currently in danger of disappearing.
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What Does the Yellowface Dragonfly Look Like?
The Chalcostephia flavifrons is a fairly small dragonfly. Its back wings are about 24 to 29 millimeters (about 1 inch) long.
Colors and Markings
When a male yellowface dragonfly grows up, it turns a bluish-grey color. It looks like it's covered in a fine, powdery dust. This dust is called pruinose.
Young males and all females look different. They are dark with bright yellow stripes. Both males and females have a special feature. Their faces are yellow. This yellow face stands out against the front of their head, which is flat and shiny green. This helps tell them apart from other dragonflies.
Wings
The dragonfly's wings are thin and clear, like glass. They have many tiny veins. At the very tip of each wing, there's a small, thick spot. This spot is called a pterostigma. It has a light center and dark edges.
Where Do Yellowface Dragonflies Live?
This dragonfly lives all over tropical and subtropical Africa. You can find it south of the Sahara Desert.
African Homes
Its home range includes many countries. These are Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also lives in Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Ivory Coast. Other countries include Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, and the Republic of Guinea. You can also find it in the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Favorite Places to Live
Yellowface dragonflies like many kinds of wet places. They live near pools of water, both temporary and permanent. These pools often have plants growing in or out of the water. They also like streams and rivers. You can find them in channels within swamps and marshes. They live in forests, especially in clearings. They also like open areas like savannas and bushy lands.
They usually live in places less than 1,800 meters (about 5,900 feet) above sea level. They are much more common below 900 meters (about 3,000 feet).
Is the Yellowface Dragonfly Safe?
The Chalcostephia flavifrons faces some challenges. People sometimes drain the wetlands where it lives. They do this to turn the land into farms. This means the dragonfly loses its home.
However, this dragonfly lives in a very wide area. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has looked at its situation. They have decided it is a "least concern" species. This means it is not currently threatened with extinction.
