A free illustrated checklist of dragonfly and damselfly for the Lowveld Botanical Garden

Visiting the Lowveld Botanical Garden is not only about plants and trees. Great discoveries and joy can be had by paying attention to smaller things.

The South African National Botanical Institute has compiled a free checklist to help you discover the beautiful dragonflies and damselflies when exploring their botanical gardens.

This checklist would also be useful when visiting Kruger National Park and other natural areas in Mpumalanga and the Panorama Route.

Here is a description of the publication, officially titled "Water dancers of South Africa’s National Botanical Gardens. An illustrated dragonfly and damselfly checklist":

After birds, butterflies and bees, dragonflies and damselflies are among the most conspicuous groups of animals observed in South Africa’s national botanical gardens. They are particularly prevalent around rivers, streams, dams and other aquatic habitats. The title of this book – water dancers – is a literal translation of the Zulu word ‘jigamanzi’ that has been used to describe dragonflies, an apt description as adults swirl about water bodies engaged in their daily business. Part of the reason for publishing this illustrated checklist is to create greater public awareness and appreciation of the importance and value of conserving dragonfly diversity as a valuable component of our natural habitats and ecosystems, as dragonflies serve as excellent indicators of terrestrial and aquatic environmental change. Not only are dragonflies good indicators of environmental health and ecological integrity, they also act as flagship species for other aquatic invertebrates in the biodiversity debate. This book represents the third in a series of Sappi-sponsored illustrated checklists of biodiversity recorded in South Africa’s national botanical gardens.

Download SANBI's free illustrated dragonfly and damselfly checklist.

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