Orthetrum sabina

 

I see them all the time.  In fact, I have seen them almost everywhere I choose to look, including in my backyard. 

This dragonfly is a common species.  And yet, for some reason, I have taken so many photos of them and put them away and not done anything about them at all so far.  I guess, it just didn't hit a chord with me till now, so I am finally writing about the Orthetrum sabina of the family Libellulidae.

 

 

As you can see, this species is easily recognised by its pale yellowish green pattern and swollen abdomen and according the the Pocket Guide, the male has hindwing length of 32-34mm while it measures 33-36mm for the female.

Anyway, I had a field day with them this morning.

They were just getting warmed up for activity in the early morning sun when I got there.  Soon after that, these dragonflies were buzzing everywhere and were chasing one another all over the place. 

I even caught sight of one feeding on a prey it had caught.  The Orthethrum sabina is seen here feeding on another dragonfly, probably of the Crocothemis species.

 

 

And I finally managed to take a few photos of these dragonflies in wheel.  It is usually not easy to observe or take photos of dragonflies in wheel as they will take flight while in tandem and when you are still quite a distance away.  Besides, they would be zapping all over the place at speed anyway.  Although some species of damselflies may remain in wheel for hours on end, the same can't be said for most dragonflies.  I have, on many occasions, seen dragonflies flying off in tandem but have never had the chance to actually observe them for more than even a second.  In fact, there are still no account of mating behaviour on record for many dragonfly species.

I was lucky this morning.

This next photo is of a pair of Orthetrum sabina in wheel.

 

 

Soon after that, the pair breaks off and almost immediately the female starts ovipositing on her own by hovering just over the water and splashing the tip of her abdomen in the water, repeated at short, rapid intervals at various spots before finally flying away to rest.

Like I said, I had a field day this morning!