Asian Blood Tail

It is a medium-sized dragonfly with brown-capped grey eyes and blood red tail. Its thorax is copper brown with a pair of narrow parallel yellow stripes on dorsal side and yellow with stripes on the sides. Segments 1 and 2 of the abdomen have broad lateral stripes and a fine mid-dorsal stripe. Segments 3 to 8 are bright crimson-red with apical sutures narrowly black. Segments 9 and 10 are black. Anal appendages are black. The abdomen of the female is brown. It breeds in marshes associated with ponds and streams.

The genus name Lathrecista is derived from the Greek λαθραῖος (lathraios, "clandestine" or "hidden") and κίστη (kistē, "basket"), referring to the inconspicuous male appendages. The species name asiatica is derived from the Latin asiaticus ("Asian" or "of Asia"). The original specimens of the species were collected in India.