Dragonflies and damselflies roam the earth’s freshwater bodies. No matter where you are you are bound to find one. Dragonflies are quite commonly known amongst people but not everyone knows what a damselfly is. They are quite easy to confuse but once you’ve mastered the trick of identifying them and know what to look out for they are very easy to distinguish.
EYES: Like all insects dragonflies and damselflies have compound eyes. The way to distinguish between dragonflies and damselflies is the position of the eyes. Damselflies have their eyes situated far from their head and is longer from top to bottom than the rest of the head. Dragonflies have their eyes situated against the head and is the same length as the rest of the head.
BODY: Damselflies have a long, narrow body. Dragonflies have a short, thicker body.
WINGS: Damselflies have narrow wings at the base that gets broader as the wings get longer, the edges are rounded. Dragonflies have broad wings throughout the entire length of the wing.
RESTING POSITION: Damselflies rest with their wings folded upward. Dragonflies rest with their wings flat and open.
FLIGHT: Dragonflies have a strong, fast flight. Damselflies have a weak, slow moving flight.
Many people don’t know how to distinguish between butterflies or moths. But it’s actually quite easy to distinguish between them. A popular belief is that moths are dull in colour and butterflies are colourful but this couldn’t be further from truth! So how do you distinguish between them?
ACTIVITY TIME: Moths are usually active during the night, whereas butterflies are usually active during the day. But there are exceptions for example hawkmoths are active in the mornings and afternoon but still stay absent during most hours of the day.
ANTENNAE/FEELERS: Butterflies have a club at the end of each antenna. Moths have feathery or threadlike antennae.
RESTING POSITION: Butterflies rest with their wings held upwards. Moths rest with their wings held flat.
DIVERSITY: There are about 19 000 butterfly species and 160 000 species of moths.
Identifying frogs and toads in South Africa is no easy task especially when it comes to young ones!
FROG OR TOAD? Before identifying it is critical that you know if you are dealing with a frog or toad.
FROGS: Usually have smooth skin and lacks Parotoid glands(poison glands) this can be observed as a oval shaped bump behind the eye.
TOADS: Usually have rough skin with visible Parotoid glands(species like the flat-back toad has very reduced Parotoid glands). Toads also usually have no webbing between feet.
DISTRIBUTION: Distribution is one of the most important factors in any identification. Using a good book or an app to find frogs or toads that occur in the area you found your frog or toad is essential for correctly identifying.
COLOUR: Frogs and toads come in all sorts of colours, knowing the general colour scheme of your frog or toad may be helpful, although frogs and toads have many colour variation in a single species. In frogs and toad colour is not always the best indicator for identification.
SHAPE AND SIZE: Frogs and toads can be identified by the shape of their eyes, there are three main types pupil shapes: vertical, horizontal and circular. This is a great way to identify frogs, but is often difficult to see the shape and is often overlooked. Taking note of the over all build of a frog (robust or delicate could often suggest the genus your frog or toad is in).
SOUND: Sound is one of the best ways to identify frogs and toads. It is used to describe new species. Unfortunately it hard to locate the frog that is calling and once the frog or toad has been disturbed it may not call again.
These are some of the best ways to identify frogs and toads in South Africa!
