Erythemis, Hagen, 1861

Rodríguez, Fredy Palacino, Sarmiento, Carlos E. & González-Soriano, Enrique, 2015, Morphological variability and evaluation of taxonomic characters in the genus Erythemis Hagen, 1861 (Odonata: Libellulidae: Sympetrinae), Insecta Mundi 2015 (428), pp. 1-68 : 8

Key to Females of Erythemis

1. Dark basal spot on HW absent ..................................................................................................... 2

— Dark basal spot on HW present ................................................................................................... 3

2(1). White abdominal appendages, Lab/Lecv-clS3 ≤2.00, LFW/Lnpt ≤2.86, Lnpt/Anb ≥1.22, LHW/ Acd ≥0.51 ............................................................................... Erythemis simplicicollis (Say)

— Black abdominal appendages, Lab/Lecv-clS3 ≤1.90, LFW/Lnpt ≥2.92, Lnpt/Anb ≤1.13, LHW/ Acd ≤0.50 ................................................................................. Erythemis collocata (Hagen)

3(1). Dark basal spot on HW not reaching the AA vein (Fig. 26) ....................................................... 4

— Dark basal spot on HW reaching the AA or beyond (Fig. 26) ..................................................... 5

4(3). Thorax and abdomen brown, sometimes with purple overtones on thorax; pale medio-dorsal thoracic stripe 2.50 wider, or more, than the dark antehumeral stripes in the dorsal region on thorax ( Fig.15 ); radial planate without double cells ... Erythemis peruviana (Rambur)

— Thorax green, dorsumof abdomen green with black; thorax and S1-3 the same color as the thorax, S4-7 with black stripes on dorsal region, S8-10 with spots or all black or dark brown; thorax without pale medio-dorsal thoracic stripe ( Fig. 14 ); radial planate with double cells (Fig. 28) ........................................................................... Erythemis vesiculosa (Fabricius)

5(3). Dark basal spot on HW not reaching the row of marginal cells of the anal angle (Fig. 26) ..... 6

— Dark basal spot on HW reaching the row of marginal cells of the anal angle (Fig. 26) ............ 7

6(5). Thorax and S1-3 reddish brown or brown, in some individuals these may be red as the remaining abdominal segments, S4-10 reddish-brown, all red, or red with brown spots on dorsal region of S4-8; vulvar lamina suboval in antero-ventral view ( Fig. 10 ) ............................................... .............................................................................. Erythemis haematogastra (Burmeister)

— Thorax brown on sides and pale brown with darker stripes on front, dorsum of abdomen brown and black with pale yellow crossbands in S3-7; vulvar lamina triangular in antero-ventral view ( Fig. 11 ) ...................................................................... Erythemis plebeja (Burmeister)

7(5). Thorax, dorsum of abdomen, and dark basal spot ochreous or brown, dorsum of thorax pale with dark antehumeral stripes, the width of the three stripes is similar. Dark basal spot on HW not reaching the first antenodal vein (Fig. 26); two or alternating two and three cell rows in the basal region of the FW discoidal field ................................. Erythemis credula (Hagen)

— Dark basal spot on HW reaching the first antenodal vein (Fig. 26), thorax black and yellow, red, reddish-brown or black; three cell rows in the basal region of the FW discoidal field ........... 8

8(7). Thorax reddish-brown or thorax and abdomen scarlet red. Erythemis carmelita Williamson

— Thorax black, red or reddish-brown, abdomen black, black with yellow, red or reddish-brown. .................................................................................................................................................... 9

9(8) Dorsum of abdomen black or black and yellow, and with yellow spots in several segments; thorax black, maximum extension of dark basal spot in HW to base of the triangle (Fig. 26) .......................................................................................................... Erythemis attala (Selys)

— Thorax and dorsum of abdomen red or reddish-brown; maximum extension of dark basal spot in HW to supplementary anal vein (Fig. 26) ..................... Erythemis mithroides (Brauer)

Figures

Figures 10–17. Discrete characters of vulvar lamina, abdominal appendages, thorax, and femur.Numbers represent the following species: 10) E. peruviana female; 11) E. plebeja female; 12) E. simplicicollis male; 13) E. mithroides male; 14) E. vesiculosa male; 15) E. peruviana female; 16) E. vesiculosa female, 17) E. attala male. Abbreviations indicate the following characters, S 8 -S 9: Abdominal segments 8-9; LV: Vulvar lamina; Pb: Posterior border; Vt: Teeth ventral; Ai: Inferior appendage; As: Antehumeral stripe.