📸 PhotoPhoto: Alpsdake · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Black demoiselle
Atrocalopteryx atrata (Black demoiselle · ハグロトンボ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of about 6 cm is slightly longer than the short side of a credit card (about 5.4 cm).
- 💡 The official nature guide of Mitaka City, Tokyo introduces this damselfly as a species that can be seen around city parks and beside rice paddies (Japanese example).
- 💡 The Fukuoka City Biodiversity Web Center notes that it is easy to observe from June to September along streams and irrigation channels in plains and hills (Japanese example).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
As its name suggests, the black demoiselle (Atrocalopteryx atrata) is a damselfly with black wings, known in Japan as haguro-tonbo. It can be seen along streams and irrigation channels from plains to hills.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its wings are black; the male's body is a glossy green, while the female's is a blackish-brown. When perching, it folds all four wings together.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Rather than flying rapidly in a straight line or hovering in place like other dragonflies, it flutters like a butterfly. It can be seen over a long season from May to October, and newly emerged young adults often spend time in the forest.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed as 'Geomeun-mul-jamjari' in the National List of Species of Korea. In a 2018 dragonfly survey of 965 Korean streams, it was selected as one of the indicator species for low-elevation streams with fine sediment on the bottom.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2018) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/167084/126898232
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — JLTY
- • iucnredlist.org — 126898232
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000218675 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000218675
- • wikidata.org — Q869395
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Calopteryx atrata male in Kiso Sansen National Governme
- • city.mitaka.lg.jp — 082403.html
- • seibutsutayousei.city.fukuoka.lg.jp — 3404
- • pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — PMC6316847
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Maxime Dahirel · CC BY 3.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Calopteryx splendens)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.