Libellulidae - Camacinia gigantea

Gigantic Indeed!

Started the day with a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and doing crossword puzzles at the same time.  Yes, that is another of my favourite things to do!  And I can easily get quite engrossed with it and totally forget the time... like this morning.

When I finally looked up and looked out the window, "Wow!  It's a beautiful morning!  Bright and sunny!" 

This must be one of the brightest mornings for the week thus far!  So I grabbed my bag and headed out to the park expecting to see the usual species of dragonflies and damselflies.  What does it matter when I will still have a good field day out there, right?  After all, it's been ages since I last had a date with these dragonflies.

When I was nearing the first pond, I could see what looked like one of the Neurothemis dragonflies fluttering up and down over the length of the pond.  But when I got closer, I realised it is a much larger dragonfly.  This dragonfly is huge in comparison!  And the way it was fluttering about patrolling its territory was slightly different as well, not the usual 'mannerisms' of the Neurothemis dragonflies that I have watched so many times before.  I waited... hoping it would perch on one of the lilies so that I can have a good look at it.

Instead, it flew off to perch on a twig high above the water.  I was certainly piqued by now.  That is definitely quite unlike the behaviour of the Neurothemis species I have been observing!  By now, I was absolutely certain this would be another species to add to the checklist for Langkawi.

And I was right!  This beautiful, dark-reddish dragonfly is not a Neurothemis after all!  I had  certainly been fooled by its similar colour and pattern!

This large dragonfly is quite appropriately named the Camacinia gigantea, of the Libellulidae family.  The male has hindwing length of 44-47 mm.  According to the Pocket Guide, this dragonfly can be found at ponds and lakes in open areas, especially along the landward margins of mangroves, widespread but rare in the Indo-Australian tropics.

I stalked this dragonfly until I was satisfied that I have at least a few good photos.  I had observed only two males of the C. gigantea dragonflies at the pond this morning...  where are all the ladies?

In the earlier part of the morning, this male dragonfly frequently left its perch on the twig to patrol over the pond and chase the other male dragonfly away, showing dominance over his territory.  Some time later, I had observed both male dragonflies perched within a foot of each other on the same twig.  Interesting!

It has certainly been a great morning with an unexpected bonus!

Libellulidae - Onychothemis testacea

Is This Another 'Tick' In The Checklist? .....I Guess Not...

Finding this dragonfly was an unexpected surprise.  It was quite by chance and was really a lucky strike.

This dragonfly may have perched there undisturbed for a while as it was a quiet day due to the rain and there wasn't anyone around.  As such, it would not have been expecting any intrusion to its daydreaming.  When I walked by and surprised it, it took off so suddenly only to hit a wall, drop to the floor then take off again to land on another wall.

I was quite as surprised to see a small, dark insect shoot off from nowhere, crash, bounce, drop, then zap off, all in a matter of split seconds.  You only get that in the cartoons!  And I can just imagine the whole scene again with all the sound effects!

Anyway, when I realised it was a dragonfly, I scrambled for my camera and got two shots before it flew off into the blue and disappeared.

Although not the best photo, it is probably sufficient to enable identification.

 

 

This dragonfly could be the Chalybeothemis fluviatilis of the family Libellulidae.  The Pocket Guide describes it as follows: a small, dark dragonfly with unmarked body, brownish basal patch on its hindwing, hindwing length of 21 mm, and is uncommon in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

I still have some doubts with its identification and have thought that I could be wrong and it is the Diplacodes trivialis.  Having made comparisons, this dragonfly has a very thin, almost straight and unmarked abdomen.  And yet... I do think it could be correct except that its appendages are light coloured.

This urbanised area is not its habitat though.  Perhaps this dragonfly had gotten confused and lost in this urban jungle?

I am a bit confused too.

 

UPDATE:  As confirmed by our odonatologist of Malaysia, Dragonflyman, it is the Diplacodes trivialis after all in the above photo, one that's aged, which explains the dark colouring. 

See further identification/comparison features in his comments.

 

 

Libellulidae - Trithemis festiva

Another Trithemis Dragonfly

 

I had first come across this dark blue dragonfly early in the year and recently spotted it again in the last few weeks.  Both times at two different areas in Langkawi.

 

 

This dragonfly is the Trithemis festiva of the family Libellulidae.  The male has hindwing length of 28mm, it is common around streams and is widespread in tropical Asia.

The Trithemis festiva is often easily confused with the Indothemis limbata, another dark blue dragonfly of similar size. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trithemis festiva (L) and Indothemis limbata (R)

Looking at both the photos above, the following comparisons can be made:  I. limbata has dark wing tips but not the T. festiva; the abdomen of the T. festiva is darker with orange streaks and lastly, the basal dark patch on the hindwing differs in shape for both dragonflies.

 

NOTE: Click on 'indothemis' in the Tags below for more info on this species.

 

 

Another Prodasineura Damselfly

 

This charming little damselfly is the Prodasineura humeralis of the family Protoneuridae.  It has hindwing length of 18mm and is a slender and dark damselfly with yellow-orange markings on its thorax. 

Apart from the colour, its size and markings are very similar to the P. laidlawii, which is a striking blue, and was featured in this blog some months ago.  Check it out here.

The Pocket Guide lists five different species of the Prodasineura damselflies to be found in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.  I wonder how many of these five could be found in Langkawi?

Questions, questions and more questions...  All these questions that I ask myself of these dragonflies and damselflies and the only way to find the answers is to keep exploring and looking.  Didn't I already say that this project will see me through retirement?  Funny, eh?

Anyway, during the current hot and dry season, there are less dragonflies and damselflies to be seen.  The water level in ponds and streams have gone down in most places.  The blistering heat is also making it quite uncomfortable to stay out in the sun and observe these creatures for too long.

I am certainly looking forward to some rain soon.  And I can imagine all these insects and other creatures will be out rejoicing when the heat dissipates and everything turns green again!

 

 

Another Rhyothemis Dragonfly

Recently went exploring in the forests with a few friends and had a great time!  Thank you for inviting me for the ramblings and scramblings.

Anyway, the morning started out without a single dragonfly in sight at the stream though along the way, there were lots of ants and even a tree frog!  Later in the day, when we reached the forest fringe, there was a pond with stagnant water and one red dragonfly buzzing around.  It was the Orthetrum testaceum, a common species, yet it was nice to see even just one dragonfly.

While walking back, I glimpsed a dark spot buzzing around and stopped to look.  As I had hoped, it had two pairs of dark-coloured wings.  I felt like I had just hit the jackpot!

 

 

It is the Rhyothemis obsolescens of the family Libellulidae.  This species is supposed to be common in open, well-vegetated areas and widespread in Sundaland; except Java. 

This dragonfly can be recognised by the variegated light and dark markings on its bronze wings.  The males have hindwing length of 21.5-23 mm and both the males and females of this species are similarly marked. 

A handful of these dragonflies were sighted.

 

 

Rather Obscure-Looking Yet Pleasing

 

I found this dragonfly perched on a grass stem at a pond recently. 

It is the Indothemis limbata of the family Libellulidae.  This medium-sized dragonfly has hindwing length of 29mm, dark wing tips and a dark patch at the base of its hindwings that aid in the identification of this species.

Here's a look at his face...

 

 

There is a slaty blue patch on its face that is almost a match to the colour of its abdomen whereas the compound eyes, thorax and basal dark patch on its hindwings are uniformly dark-coloured.  The colours and the way it is perched makes it almost inconspicuous in its surroundings.  It seems like a rather obscure-looking dragonfly yet the slaty blue colours give it a pleasing look.

The Pocket Guide lists this species as rare and local over open water and I did not see too many of them at the pond.

 

 

The Dark One

 

I have often seen this rather large, dark, mystic-looking dragonfly buzzing tirelessly at speed to and fro guarding its territory over an area of the stream.

Once in a while, another similar-looking dragonfly will enter this well-guarded space and a chase will ensue to get the intruder off the area before it returns to resume patrolling tirelessly over its territory again. Or perhaps it was a short, futile pursuit for a female dragonfly?

Anyway, once in a while this dragonfly will then stop to perch somewhere on a twig up high over the stream near the area it had been patrolling.

All those times, I could never get the chance at all to have a good look at the dragonfly to even look at any markings or features to enable its identification, much less get a photo.

And then, I had my lucky day! 

Well, I had plenty of time to spare!  So I sat down near its territory and just waited.  The first few times, when it stopped to perch, I couldn't even get close before it took off again.  But after some time, the "comfort distance" got closer and closer until it was enough to get a few good shots.

 

 

This dragonfly is the Zygonyx iris of the family Libellulidae.  It can be recognised by the yellow mid-dorsal stripes on its abdomen.  The male has hindwing length of 40-42mm and this species is widespread in tropical Asia.  In a sunlit spot, it looks dark and metallic with a bluish tint to it.

 

 

I also had the chance to observe a pair of the Zygonyx iris in tandem the other day and watch the practice of contact guarding during the oviposition process for this species.

The male and female dragonflies remain in tandem and the male maintains his clasp on the female even while she oviposits.  They will fly around at speed in tandem, then hover over an area and make rapid swoops down onto the submerged tree roots in the fast flowing stream, allowing the female to flip its abdomen in the water.  This is repeated over several different spots at intervals and then, just as suddenly, the pair breaks off and fly away on their own.