Black Percher or Black Ground Skimmer (Diplacodes lefebvrii), a species of dragon fly, was sighted for the first time in the Seshachalam Hill ranges recently. It belongs to the phylum arthropoda, class insecta and order odonata.
O. Inesh Siddhartha, a Tirupati-based wildlife photographer, clicked the species in the forest area abutting the city recently. The B.Sc. Microbiology graduate from Sree Vidyanikethan group started photography as a hobby, developed a keen interest towards macro photography and moved into the woods for an occasional click.
“I have seen many insects in the forest, but chose this black dragonfly as I somehow felt that it was rare. It took four and a half hours for me to get a close view,” Mr. Siddhartha told The Hindu.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, Black Ground Skimmer was labelled in 2016 as of ‘least concern’ in view of its wide prevalence in Southern Eurasia and the whole of Africa.
The insect has been sighted in forest locations of Karnataka and coastal Andhra Pradesh, but this appears to be its maiden appearance in the Seshachalam ranges. It is known to move near forest streams.
Mr. Siddhartha has received a merit certificate during the the recent Republic Day celebrations in Chittoor for having scored first in the wildlife photography in Chittoor district by capturing the image of a red dragonfly in the past.
Though the Black Percher is not a rarity, he feels that this documentation will go a long way in aiding further research on the species.
