Crocothemis is a genus of dragonflies in the Libellulidae family, subfamily Sympetrinae (darters). Various species of this genus occur in southern Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Southwest Pacific. They are generally small to medium-sized dragonflies.
These dragonflies are often noticed due to their colours. Males are generally very brightly coloured, ranging from totally red in several species, to the rich blue of Australia's C. nigrifrons. As with many Libellulid species, the females tend to be dull brown or orange.
Like most libellulids they tend to perch on sticks, reeds or stones near water, flying out to catch insects then returning to their perch.
Etymology The genus name Crocothemis is derived from the Greek κρόκος (krokos, "crocus", the source of saffron) and -themis, from Greek Θέμις (Themis), the goddess of divine law, order and justice. In early odonate taxonomy, names ending in -themis were introduced by Hagen and were widely used for dragonflies. The name refers to the amber colouration at the base of the wings.
Species The genus contains the following species: Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution Crocothemis brevistigma Spotted Scarlet Ikelenge, Mwinilunga, Zambia Crocothemis chaldaeorum Bahrain; Iran; Iraq; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait Crocothemis divisa divisa scarlet, slender scarlet, slender scarlet-darter tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar Crocothemis erythraea scarlet darter, broad scarletsouthern Europe and throughout Africa, western Asia as far as southern China Crocothemis nigrifrons black-headed skimmer Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Crocothemis sanguinolenta little scarlet, slim scarlet-darter, small scarlet Africa south of the Sahara (including Madagascar), in the Levant, and in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Crocothemis saxicolor granite scarlet Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Liberia, and possibly Sierra Leone. Crocothemis servilia scarlet skimmer, oriental scarlet east and southeast Asia Crocothemis striata Black-legged ScarletMadagascar
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