Template:POTD/2023-12-07

Picture of the day

Platycypha caligata, commonly known as the dancing jewel, is a species of damselfly in the family Chlorocyphidae. It is found in eastern, central and southern Africa from Ethiopia to Angola and South Africa. Its natural habitats include shady parts of subtropical or tropical streams and rivers in forest, woodland, savanna, shrubland, and the shorelines of lakes. Males perform remarkable territorial and courtship displays which include flashing their brightly coloured legs with flattened tibiae and waving their abdomens. This male dancing jewel, with a length of around 35 mm, was photographed near Victoria Falls in Zambia.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp