Diplacodes is a genus of dragonflies in the Libellulidae family. They are commonly known as perchers. Their colours range from the totally black body of the African Diplacodes lefebvrii, the lovely pale blue of India's Diplacodes trivialis, to the intense red of the Asian–Australian Diplacodes haematodes.
Various species of this genus occur in Africa, Asia, Australia and the South West Pacific. They are generally small in size.
Etymology The genus name Diplacodes combines Diplax, a genus name derived from the Greek δίς (dis, "twice") and πλάξ (plax, "flat and broad"), with the Greek suffix –ώδης (-ōdēs, "resembling" or "having the nature of"). The name refers to the similarity of the genus to Diplax and Diplacina.
Species The genus Diplacodes includes the following species: Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution Diplacodes bipunctata wandering percherAustralia Diplacodes deminuta little percherCentral Africa Diplacodes exilis Madagascar Diplacodes haematodes scarlet percher Australia (except Tasmania), Timor, New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Diplacodes lefebvrii black percherAfrica and southern Eurasia. Diplacodes luminans luminous percher, barbet, barbet percherCentral Africa Diplacodes melanopsis black-faced percher Eastern Australia Diplacodes nebulosa charcoal-winged percherAsia and northern Australia Diplacodes pumila dwarf percher Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe Diplacodes trivialis chalky percher, ground skimmerIndia
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