The Katydid

Had a visit from this insect some weeks ago. 

I had first spotted it on my kitchen window as I was going out. 
And, as usual, I grabbed my camera and took a few shots before I headed out.

It's always great when these insects are perched on glass windows as I can get a view of its abdomen from the underside too!

Anyway, I had forgotten all about these photos till this morning.
A quick check in my insect chart and book confirm that it is a Katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).


These are extracts from the Encyclopedia Brittanica website at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/313386/katydid:

-  Katydid, any of numerous predominantly nocturnal insects related to crickets and grasshoppers and noted for their loud mating calls.  Katydids have large hind legs and are distinguished by their extremely long, threadlike antennae and the thick, upwardly curved ovipositor (egg-laying structure) of the females. Often large and green, many katydids have long wings, but some common species are nearly wingless.

-  They live on trees, bushes, or grasses, often matching the appearance of their surroundings. Many species resemble leaves. Owing to such adaptations and their lack of daytime activity, relatively little is known of this group of insects, despite their ubiquity, abundance, and variety.

This Katydid is a very attractive-looking insect. 
Checking further on the internet, I guess this would be one of the species of Angular Wing Katydids.

Learning never stops!

A Gem Of An Emerald

It is hard to believe a month have passed since my last entry.  Although it is all rather relative, the days do always seem to go by much faster when you are having a great time!

In the last week, I have had the privilege of meeting with Robin and Wei Ling, who are both with the the National Parks Board in Singapore, and on their holiday in Langkawi.  And as you would expect, we went on an outing to look for dragonflies.  It was certainly enjoyable to have company on my "hunts", especially with friends who are keen odonata enthusiasts themselves.  To be more accurate, they are quite the specialists in the field.

And thanks to them, there are now more new species to add to the checklist for Langkawi.

Here's Robin and Wei Ling taking photos of a dragonfly, the Zygonix iris, before it was released again.

Later, as we were strolling along the path to head out for lunch, out came this dragonfly as we neared a stream. 

This is one of the dragonflies I had spotted a few times previously but do not have any means to identify the species as I could only watch as it appeared out of nowhere, do a few short, quick patrols over the stream and then flew off again towards the forest as swiftly as it had appeared.

This time, we were in luck.  Robin managed to net it.

Out came his kit with the loupe, ruler, and Pocket Guide.  And, of course, all of us had our cameras at the ready.  A few photos were taken, measurements made and we had a good close look of it to ensure correct species identification.

This is a male of the Macromidia genialis of the family Corduliidae, with hindwing length of 29 mm.  In the Pocket Guide, it says that this species is furtive and possiby rare.  The Corduliidae, or the Emeralds, is a family of dragonflies having striking iridescent green eyes, as captured in the photo below.  Most species in this group are generally difficult to find and some are quite rare.

I am glad I did have these few shots of the dragonfly.  I wouldn't know if it was because I was getting hungry or simply because I was just too excited about having an emerald in our hands, or possibly a bit of both, but I did not get too many great photos as my hands had been a bit shaky holding the camera.  Nevertheless, lunch can wait when a rare dragonfly is the reason for it.

In any case, this is a first for a Corduliidae dragonfly for my checklist for Langkawi.

We've certainly caught a gem in our hands!

An Afternoon With The Vestalis!

It had rained in the morning.

So... there goes my plan for the day, I thought.  Nevertheless, I was quite happy to stay indoors with a good book and stay dry and nice on days when I don't have to get all drenched in the rain like when I am working in the outdoors.

Contrary to what the weather forecast had said, rain in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon, the sun did come out much later in the day.  I was feeling rather lazy by then and was a bit reluctant to get moving but an opportunity to go looking for dragonflies is something I seldom resist!

The first creature to greet me was a Vestalis damselfly.  And as it turned out, this is one of the rare days with encounters of more than a dozen Vestalis damselflies!  Perhaps even a score... I had lost count!

Not only that, even though I had just missed witnessing a pair in wheel, I did get the chance to observe the behaviour of an ovipositing pair.

The male Vestalis gracilis damselfly was guarding the female throughout the ovipositing process, which took over fifteen minutes to complete.

The female damselfly took her time, carefully ovipositing her eggs into the grass stems at several different spots in the flowing water.

The male damselfly would be nearby the whole time.  Sometimes perched right next to her and keeping a lookout while at other times keeping a watchful eye on the female.

Once the oviposition was completed, both damselflies flew away in different directions to perch in different places.

I would have taken tons of photos but it was not easy.  The female would be perched on a grass stem that is quivering in the ripple of the stream.  With the slight breeze, she would also be quavering and almost swaying from side to side while she is ovipositing her eggs.  Add to that, my hands were shaky in my haste to capture the moment as fast as I could in case I missed it.  Arrrgh!

Finally, I did calm down enough to get a few shots that good enough!

After that, I did come across another pair of Vestalis damselflies in the midst of their courtship dance and sat down to watch and wait.  During this time, the female damselfly stopped momentarily to perch only once and the dancing would continue again.

But it was not meant to be.  After about thirty minutes, both damselflies went their separate ways.  Perhaps it had been just tedious.  Or perhaps because night would be approaching soon.

But, besides the Vestalis damselflies, I have another two species to add to my checklist!

What a great day indeed!

Spreadwings In Tandem

Came across two species of the spreadwings today. 
Both are already in my checklist.

Nevertheless, as I do not often find them, it is always nice to get the opportunity for more photos, and hopefully better photos, of these species.

The Platylestes heterostylus is pictured above (female) and on the left (male) while the Lestes praemorsus (male) is shown on the right.

Both these damselflies of the family Lestidae are very similar looking but for the colour and markings...

And finding this tandem pair of Platylestes heterostylus has certainly made my day!

A rare find indeed!

Truly A Graceful, Elegant Dance

I recently had the chance to observe the dance of a pair of damselflies.
And I wondered if it could be the ritual for their courtship-mating dance?

It was a bright, hot, sunny morning and the venue was at a small stream in an open area.  I could have easily missed the whole spectacle but for the ghostly fluttering movements that caught my eye.  I crept in closer and crouched down to watch and wait. 

This pair of Vestalis damselflies were just dancing in the breeze.  The female damselfly would always be at the front, facing into the breeze and fluttering her wings while the male damselfly would flutter just behind her, following her every movement.  And they would just be dancing on the spot like that.

After a while she would dash a few meters away, followed eagerly by the male damselfly and the pair would then dance on the spot again.  And they went on like that for quite a long while, going to and fro, to and fro, just fluttering away.

I crouched there in the hot sun and waited.  No wonder passers-by think I'm out of my mind, right?  But all I could think of was that this pair of damselflies would have to stop and perch at some point, isn't it?  And I had hoped they would perch near to me.

And they did.

Vestalis gracilis, male

Vestalis gracilis, female

So I managed to take photos of each of the male and female damselflies.  These are the Vestalis gracilis damselflies.

On several occasions, when the female perched on a stem of grass, the male would also stop to perch just inches away, at opposites and face to face with the female damselfly.  After a short break, the dancing starts again.  And the whole sequence is repeated.  Eventually, they went too far away and disappeared soon after that.

It is just too bad that I could not take photos when they perched face-to-face or even of their dance though I have the performance filmed in my mind's eye.

These Vestalis gracilis damselflies are as graceful as their name suggests and their fluttering dancing movements were certainly elegant.

Really Large Mandibles!

I have been on the lookout for this damselfly and finally spotted it this afternoon.  Today must be my lucky day?

 

 

The Platylestes heterostylus of the family Lestidae is not a very common damselfy.  I spotted it for the first time on 23rd March 2009 and have been hoping to find it again.  That's right...  I have seen it on only one day out of all the days I have been out exploring in the 365 days this past year.  And like the last encounter, I could find only one individual. 

Anyway, the abdomen of this damselfly has a "hockey-stick" appearance making it look like a deformity and I also had the chance to look at its face for the first time today.  It has really large mandibles!

 

 

Click on "platylestes" in the Tags below to read more on this damselfly in an earlier entry.

 

Lestidae - Platylestes heterostylus

A Colourful Find On A Cloudy Morning

It was cloudy, overcast and a bit gloomy this morning.  Since I was already up, I thought I might as well pay a visit to the pond anyway.

As I had thought, the place was quiet and full of inactivity.  And there was none of the usual chirping of birds to break the silence of the dawn and fill the air with greetings for a new day.

I saw only a few of the usual common odonata species hidden among the grasses, still waking up and getting warmed up for flight and I did not see the usual scene of dragonflies buzzing around patrolling their territories.  Nevertheless, there was a pair of Ischnura senegalensis in tandem, a pair of Pseudagrion microcephalum in wheel, a pair of Copera ciliata in tandem and a few of the Agriocnemis femina just starting to move about more actively.  I took a few photos of all of  them and continued walking around the pond.

Just when I thought that's about the most I will find for this morning, a spot of colours caught my eye.

 

 

This brightly coloured damselfly is the Ceriagrion cerinorubellum of the family Coenagrionidae.  The male of this species has hindwing length of 17mm.  According to the Pocket Guide, this is one of the commonest and most colourful member of its family and this damselfly is a ferocious predator, consuming teneral individuals and other damselflies larger than itself.

Yet this was the only damselfly of this species that I found.

 

 

It has amazing colours on the thorax and abdomen but its face has a "plasticky" appearance like the Ischnura senegalensis owing to the large mandibles that make up a big proportion of its face.  As you can see in the above photo, it gives the damselfly a seemingly savage look.

I guess its reputation as a ferocious predator explains why it was quite undeterred by me as I got closer to have a good look and take a few photos.  I could move about freely and this tiny damselfly did not even flutter away warily like some of the other species do.

It is as fearless as it looks!

 

 

Calopterygidae - Vestalis gracilis

January 2010: Am still on the big debate whether it is the V. gracilis, V. amoena or the V. amethystina?
Having taken more recent photos, I'm thinking more towards V. amoena...
But until I can confirm it for sure, I guess the species identification for this damselfly is still pending.

12 APRIL 2011: ID confirmed to be the Vestalis gracilis thanks to our Odonatologist in Malaysia, C.Y. Choong.

Green And Graceful

 

The Pocket Guide lists three different species of Vestalis damselflies to be found in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.  All three species look very similar and are best differentiated by studying their appendages. 

The Vestalis species from the family Calopterygidae are large damselflies with metallic green body, long legs and broad wings, which actually give them a rather graceful gait when they fly. 

 

 

Both the above photos show the male damselfly of one of the Vestalis damselflies.

The correct species id can be confirmed based on certain markings on the thorax (specifically for the Vestalis gracilis) and by studying the appendages of the damselfly, as shown below.

 

 

Anyway, the males and females of the Vestalis species have similar markings and their colours give them a good camouflage whether they are perched among leaves in the forest or fluttering away to hide.  The female can be differentiated by their less brilliant colours and the different appendages.  The following photo shows a female Vestalis damselfly.

 

 

Here's a photo of the abdomen of the female damselfly:

 

 

This species of damselfly fascinates me.  Frankly, I have always thought dragonflies to be more captivating than the tiny damselflies, perhaps due to the plasticky faces of the Ischnura species that one often encounters everywhere.  But these Vestalis species are large damselflies yet they are graceful, look almost as fragile as the tiny damselflies and they do have nice looking faces too!

I had also come across the male of this species a few months ago at a different location.

UPDATE 12 APRIL 2011:  This species is confirmed as the Vestalis gracilis by dragonflyman, C.Y. Choong.  Thanks a million!

 

Glimmering Green Wings

This past week, I have been out scouting for dragonflies and damselflies whenever I can.  And I must say that being in the forests and near streams listening to insect choruses and the sounds of flowing water have been most peaceful and just sweet! 

It is certainly the best music for the ears; not to mention the mind and soul.

My explorations have also been fruitful.

I have found the mature male of the Neurobasis chinensis and this is what it looks like:

 

 

I sat down to observe this male damselfly and when it had landed on a perch, it will initially flutter its wings several times, repeated at intervals, displaying the brilliant colours of its hindwings.  After a while, it will then remain quite still and motionless for a long time unless disturbed.  Sometimes, it would be grooming. 

When disturbed, it will then take off from its perch, find another place or fly back to the same perch and repeat the fluttering displays of its bright glimmering green hindwings again.  I took the chance in keeping the camera focused on it and patience and perseverence did pay off!

 

 

It is a good looking male damselfly, isn't it?

Also observed the female of this species fluttering its wings and giving a display while it was perched on a rock nearby.

 

 

That got me to wonder if these fluttering displays are signals and do they mean anything?

When I came across the female Neurobasis chinensis for the first time some time ago, I did not find the male damselfly then and I also did not observe any wing display by the female.  Click here to read the earlier article.

 

 

And So It Is The Neurobasis chinensis!

 

Yippee!

Many thanks to Ian Choong, who has confirmed that the beautiful, green and graceful damselfly that I had thought might be the Vestalis species, is actually the Neurobasis chinensis, female, also of the family Calopterygidae.  This species is widespread in mainland tropical Asia and Sumatra.

 

 

I had needed that expert eye to confirm this and when it comes to Odonata of Peninsular Malaysia, he really is the expert here, having spent many years observing and studying them.

 

 

Since he has confirmed the identification of this species, I now notice the white pseudo-pterostigma on the hindwings too.  This applies to the females of this species.  I do hope to come across the male of this species one of these days.  From the Guide Book, the male looks like he'll really make heads turn.  It's definitely a wow!  So I am keeping my fingers crossed and now have renewed motivation to keep scouring Langkawi for it.

 

 

Previously, I had been looking at the thorax and appendages; literally everything but the markings on the wings!  And sometimes when you are looking for outstanding details in too many pictures of similar things for too long, they all become a blur and look the same!  Yet now, the markings on the wings seem so obvious.  I had been so blind to it.

Lesson learned.

And, as I would always say, learning never stop.

 

 

How Eco Is This?

In recent months, dragonflies have not been at the top of the list of things that are keeping me busy.

In recent months, news of the setting up of an Eco Resort on Pulau Payar Marine Park have been buzzing in Langkawi.

And in recent months, works have commenced to clear up the area where the resort is sited, to refurbish the abandoned geodesic dome structures that had been built there in the 1990s and to get the resort ready for operations.

During these months, my friend, Wendy, and I have been coming up against walls in getting the attention of the relevant authorities to review and revoke the permit to operate this so-called Pulau Payar Eco Resort.

Apart from our article, titled "Langkawi's Jewel In The Crown May Disappear", being published in Malaysiakini - Letters to the Editor, letters and emails to the relevant authorities remain unanswered.

Our efforts thus far have come up to naught.

If anyone wants to know how green the owner(s) profess to run this resort, I am sure they can easily find the information online.

What I would like to write about here is how GREEN AND ECO IT IS NOT !

I am presenting to you evidence that open burning had been the preferred method in use to set fire to the forest floor to burn away and clear the shrubs, bushes and/or undergrowth within the resort grounds.  Now that the forest floor on that hill slope is burned bare and cleared, whenever it rains the water run-off into the sea below that slope will carry with it soil particles, causing siltation or sedimentation in the waters around Pulau Payar.  Add to that, should these people have used any weedkillers, chemicals deadly to marine life would also have been washed into the sea by the rain.

 

This picture shows an area of burned forest floor around the perimeter of the resort grounds.

 

In this next picture, smoke is still coming off the ground where it had just been burned and the trunks of the trees are charred black.

 

This picture is of a palm tree in another area within the resort grounds.  Notice the charred marks on its trunk.

 

Isn't open burning banned in Malaysia? 

Yes, we all know that enforcement of the ban is sadly lacking.  But among people who should know better not to do it, isn't it a fact then that open burning would be a blatant disregard of this ban?

Is open burning a green and eco practice?  Didn't the owner(s) of the resort claim to follow eco practices for the operations of the resort?  Shouldn't the owner(s) apply these eco practices to the works-in-progress leading up to its operations too?

Is this claim of an eco resort just a farce?  Merely a marketing gimmick? 

Or are they now going to claim that the fire had been accidental?

So... how eco is this resort, really?

 

Blue Is Cool And Calming

Hard to believe it is early October already.  I suppose it is true that time seems to fly when you are busy or when you are having a good time.

Or when you are caught up with everything else in the world...

When too many things are happening around you at the same time and you get caught up in an endless game of catch, it can feel like you are just running and running and running and everything else becomes a blur around you except what you see directly in front of you.

And now that the running has stopped, I have looked around me and reoriented myself, I am playing catch up with these beautiful dragonflies again.  I have missed them!

 

 

This blue dragonfly with its big blue eyes is the adult male of the Acisoma panorpoides of the family Libellulidae.  Talk about staring into blue eyes!  

It is indeed another amazing looking little creature.  And, after all, blue is a cool colour! 

 

 

This male Acisoma panorpoides has hindwing length of 22mm.  This species can be easily recognised by the unique shape of its abdomen and the intricate patterns on its thorax.  They are found in open, often disturbed habitats and is widespread in tropical Asia.

Although a common species, it is not easy to spot these dragonflies as they often perch rather inconspicuously among vegetation in grassy swamps or padi fields.  It has certainly taken me quite a few months to keep looking for them and finally get a few good shots.

 

 

The female of this species has light yellow, sometimes greenish, colouring, with hindwing length of 24mm.  As you can see, she does not have the blue eyes like those of the male and it is greenish instead, but its markings and the shape of its abdomen are both unmistakable features to identify this species.

 

 

And here is a young, immature dragonfly of the same species, possibly a male judging by its colour, though he is yet to develop the full colours of the adult.  Even without the big blue eyes, it is a nice looking face staring back at you.

 

Green Is In!

 

Isn't he glitzy?  Just look at the metallic green body of that damselfly!

I was walking on a forest trail with a friend when I spotted this guy while she spotted a spider.  This damselfly was rather well camouflaged among the bushes. 

Me:  "Ahh!  Look!  A damselfly!" 

Friend:  "Where?"

Me:  "There!  Do you see it?"

Friend:  "Where?"

You get the gist!  A green damselfly among green foliage with daylight growing dimmer is not the easiest thing to spot. 

And I had to go looking again another day for more photographs to properly identify it.  That first time, he was perched on a leaf and did not move away too much but the angle and lighting was not the best.  The next time I went there on my own, this guy was being totally elusive and would not let me get near at all.  He would show himself, then go hide in the bushes where I cannot find him and when I did, he went fluttering away to perch on another leaf further away and higher up.  It went on like that quite a few times...

Perhaps he was playing a game of hide-and-seek?  Or is he now camera shy?  Or perhaps he just liked my friend better than he does me!

One thing for sure, this green male damselfly is certainly a grand and good looking one!

 

 

Could this possibly be the Vestalis gracilis of the family Calopterygidae?  The superior appendages of this species are curved inward strongly and the thorax is marked with discrete light green patches.  Or it could even be the Vestalis amoena or Vestalis amethystina?  All three species in this family look very similar and it would be difficult to tell them apart just from looking at photos like these.

The Vestalis gracilis can be found mainly in the north of Peninsular Malaysia though it is widespread in continental Asia, while Vestalis amoena is widespread in Sundaland except Java and the Vestalis amethystina is widespread in Peninsular Malaysia.  Tough one here, isn't it?

Anyway, the Calopterygidae family of damselflies are commonly known as Broad-winged Damselflies due to their broad wingspans, with many species having metallic-coloured bodies and heavily-tinted wings.

I still do not have the best shots of this damselfly and will definitely go there again for more!  But I did get a good shot of this spider on my second visit to this area...

 

 

It seems to me to be the Nephila pilipes, one of the species of the Golden Silk Orb Weavers noted for the large, strong and impressive webs they build. 

And, my dear friend, this spider pic is for you!

 

 

The Spreadwings

I came across this damselfly some months ago, back in late March, actually.  And since then, I have not seen it again even though I have been going back to the same place regularly.

 

 

It is the Platylestes heterostylus of the family Lestidae.  This damselfly has a hindwing length of 21mm.  It is of a light green colour with dark spots on its body or synthorax.  Its abdomen is long and slender and ends in robust anal appendages.  These anal appendages or claspers in the males of this species are long and strongly curved.

Also of note is the head of this damselfly, which is quite different in that it does not have a 'plasticky'-looking face as in the Ischnura senegalensis.

 

 

According to A.G. Orr's Pocket Guide, this damselfly is rare and local in open and forested swamp.  So it must have been a lucky day for me to come across it then.

The family Lestidae has large-sized, slender damselflies and while damselflies generally hold their wings folded when at rest, most damselflies of the Lestidae family hold their wings at an angle away from the body while resting, which explains why they are commonly referred to as Spreadwings or Spread-winged Damselflies.

This damselfly may not have a bright colouring and may not be as eye-catching as the Prodasineura laidlawii but it has its own beauty and is pleasing to the eyes in its own way...

I do hope I will see them again one of these days and I also wonder where else in Langkawi will I find them?