Named after Hong Kong, Hong Kong Clubtail is one of some 130 species of dragonflies that call this city home. Like other dragonflies, this creature is hemimetabolous, meaning that its larva (often called as 'nymph') transforms into adult without going through the pupal phase. The dragonfly has a special mouth part (labium) that can spring out to capture the oblivious prey, making the nymph of Hong Kong Clubtail a fierce predator like its adult counterpart. During the larval stage, Hong Kong Clubtail lives in freshwater. When going through emergence, the nymph crawls out from the water and emerges from its exuvia as a beautiful adult dragonfly.
Hong Kong Clubtail was once thought to be a subspecies of Elegant Clubtail but was raised to full species status in 2009. It is scatteredly distributed in Hong Kong but is not uncommon. The adults can be seen between April and August in the streams and surrounding woodlands. Although some dragonflies exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism, there are almost no morphological differences between the female and male of Hong Kong Clubtail. Both sexes have black bodies embellished with yellow markings. During mating, the male grabs the head of a receptive female with its appendages at the abdomen tip, and then a female attaches the tip of her abdomen to the secondary sex organs of the male, forming a mating 'wheel' of heart or egg shape.
| Family | Gomphidae |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Leptogomphus hongkongensis |
| Adult Size | 6.3–6.5 cm in length |
| Habitat | Streams and surrounding woodlands |
| IUCN Red List Status | Least Concern |
