Phaon iridipennis
face: buff with some brown and deep green markings. Anteclypeus, postclypeus and frons in front dark buff with diffuse, brown markings. Genae light buff. Frons above light buff. Rest of head, bordering eyes, dark green with a buff, central area.
eyes: above dark greyish brown, below light greyish brown. blotchy buff, brown and metallic green.
Prothorax: light brown with alternating wide stripes of metallic green and narrow stripes of dark brown.
Wings: clear becoming slightly smoky with age, and with bright, silvery iridescence that appears blue and mauve when viewed at particular angles.
Pterostigmas: absent or very small, light brown turning dark brown with age.
Abdomen: dark, metallic green with fine, light-brown rings at each segmental joint. Light brown below.
Female: almost identical in colour and patterning to male, only less metallic.
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Very large, metallic greenish brown with large, rounded
glistening wings which have dense and delicate net-like
venation and small or absent pterostigmas. Wooded
streams E of Drakensberg escarpment.
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Distribution: ECP, then N along the coastal plain, up to 800 m a.s.l. To Central Africa and Madagascar.
Flight period: Nov-May
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Habitat:Among bushes and trees, especially with a tangle of dead twigs at or near swift streams or rivers. Occasionally in deep forest up to 1 kmfromwater.
Behavior: Rarely seen in flight, unless disturbed, when its iridescent wings are striking. Normally rests horizontally along dead twig.
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