More Species... But Not In Langkawi!

 

I have been away from Langkawi and though it was only for two weeks and I was just across the channel, it had felt as if I was in another world entirely and it had seemed like ages!

Luckily for me, I was based in an area located next to the forest fringe, there were lotus ponds, marshy areas overgrown with cattails and also padi fields nearby. 

It was dragonfly haven! 

Although I did not get to spend all day everyday observing these creatures, I did spend a bit of time watching them whenever I had the chance to do so and I did get a few photos of some common species and also of species that I have yet to encounter in Langkawi.  Other insects and plant life included!

 

Tridax daisies aplenty!

 

Rhyothemis plutonia (Selys, 1883)

 

Lathrecista asiatica (Fabricius, 1798)

 

Rhyothemis phyllis (Sulzer, 1776).  There were swarms of them!

 

Aethriamanta spp.  Need id for this dragonfly...

 

Aethriamanta spp, a pair in wheel.

 

Aethriamanta brevipennis (Rambur, 1842)

 

Aethriamanta brevipennis (Rambur, 1842), a female.

 

Acisoma panorpoides (Rambur, 1842)

 

Brachydiplax chalybea (Brauer, 1868)

 

Urothemis signata insignata (Selys, 1872)

 

Another dragonfly... need id for this fella...

 

Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798).  Found this dead dragonfly on the ground.

 

Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839).  Found this dragonfly with half its abdomen torn off but it was still alive and struggling.

 

Agriocnemis pygmaea (Rambur, 1842)

 

Ceriagrion chaoi (Schmidt, 1964)

 

Ceriagrion chaoi (Schmidt, 1964), a female.

 

Ceriagrion chaoi (Schmidt, 1964).  A pair in tandem with the female ovipositing into the pond plants.

 

A Stingless Bee out to collect nectar from the Sacred Lotus after the rain.

 

A colourful butterfly.

 

A mating pair of Wasp Moth.

 

A Wolf Spider on the Water Lettuce.

 

Cattails in the evening sky.

Other Odonata species spotted were:

Crocothemis servilia, Rhodothemis rufa, Orthetrum glaucum, Orthetrum chrysis, Orthetrum sabina, Orthetrum testaceum, Diplacodes trivialis and the Ischnura senegalensis.

Also, a blue damselfly.....

 

 

Platycnemididae - Copera vittata

The Ghost Damselfly!

I had stumbled upon this tiny damselfly quite unexpectedly while exploring along a forest stream early in the year.  The truth is that I would have missed it if I hadn't caught that tiny flicker of movement among the leaf litter on the ground.

 

 

This is the Copera vittata of the family Platycnemididae.  The male has hindwing length of 16mm and it is a very slender and dainty damselfly.  The above photo shows a female damselfly of this species.  It really is tiny and its size and colour makes it blend very well into its surroundings making it almost invisible, like a ghost damselfly!

As I walked further along on the trail, I came across another damselfly of the same species but this time it was an immature damselfly and this was a short distance away from the stream.

 

 

As you can see, this immature damselfly has a pale ivory colouring, known as 'ghost' form, according to the Pocket Guide.  Again, it was actually quite inconspicuous among the twigs and leaf litter.  I had barely managed to get two shots and it disappeared from view.

So I went back to the trail again several days later to look this immature damselfly.

 

 

In just three days, it had developed some maturity, lost the pale ivory colouring and its legs are now a deeper yellow.  According to the Pocket Guide, the adult males would have legs of orange red colour.

Again, just two good shots before it flittered its wings and, like an apparition, disappeared into the forest!

 

 

Tinted Wings

 

I have taken quite a few shots of this dragonfly whenever I do see them around and I had first spotted them back in July last year.  On hot days, these dragonflies are often seen standing in the obelisk position as well.

 

 

These are the Brachythemis contaminata of the family Libellulidae.  They are quite small dragonflies with the male having hindwing length of only 22.5mm but they are easily recognised by their tinted wings of deep amber-orange hue.  The adult males have a deep orange coloured abdomen and can be easily spotted while the females and immature males are paler, tending more towards a brownish hue, their wings are still tinted, but less intense in colouration compared to the adult males.

 

 

The Brachythemis contaminata is a common species often found everywhere around ponds and they are even tolerant of polluted waters.

 

 

Saturday's Sunset

 

I was on my way out for dinner when I saw this huge fiery orange ball just over the horizon and drove as fast as I could to get to the lookout point.  Yet, it had started dipping behind the breakwall by then.  It continued to dip rather swiftly and was soon gone.

The same sun that I had watched rising just that morning...

And another night is set upon us.

 

 

Dawn

I simply love the early hours of the morning. 

And I just do not tire looking at the dawn skies. 

The way the colours swirl and mix around on the palette of the sky is always different each dawn and always will be.

 

 

And just before the sun peeks out from the horizon, the colours become even more intense, giving you a glimpse of what to expect for the day to come.

 

 

In the cool of the early morning, these fishermen go out to sea to start on the day's catch.

 

 

And then, the sunrise!

 

 

The beginning of another hot day...

 

 

...as the sun rose higher in sky!

 

 

Life on the island begins to wake up.....

 

A bee has started collecting nectar.

 

While the Acisoma panorpoides is finding it difficult to get started.

 

A male Crocothemis servilia basking in the morning sun.

 

And another Crocothemis servilia getting warmed up to start the day.

 

Although still rather early, this pair of Ischnura senegalensis is already in wheel.

 

And life goes on.....

 

 

 

 

Pick Of The Day - A Passionflower!

 

A Stinking Passionflower is what this is called.

The flower looks strange and exotic but the smell is not!

Instead of a nice fragrance, the whole plant smells unpleasant.

Yet the ripened yellow berries are surprisingly sweet and are favourites among birds and children.

 

 

A Surprising Find!

Instead of going directly to my usual haunt in the usual way, I thought I'd take a longer walk and use a different route for a change.

Surprise!  Surprise!

Spotted this dragonfly perched up high on a twig on a tree!

 

 

To think that I was actually looking out for birds when this guy caught my attention! 

And then I had to climb up a wall to get a good look and a slightly better angle for a photo, all the while hoping this dragonfly won't get frightened off and buzz away somewhere else.  Never mind about falling off that wall!

As it turned out, he does like his perch on this twig!

 

 

This is a male dragonfly of the species Pantala flavescens of the family Libellulidae, with hindwing length of 41mm.  The Pocket Guide describes this species as having distinctive dark tips to the hindwings, colours of abdomen quite variable depending on maturity with younger dragonflies being light ochre while females range from yellow ochre to umber brown; and this species would venture far from water over rainforest canopy, is migratory and often present in large swarms.

Now... that makes me wonder.  Again, this seemed to be the only male dragonfly of this species in this area...  Or at least the only male of this species that I had spotted on this day!  Or perhaps they would be in large swarms during migration?  That is something I would hope to see one day!

So far, I have seen only the female dragonfly of this species before and this is the first time I have spotted the male.  Now that I know this dragonfly likes to perch up high, I will keep an eye out in these high places from now on.

With some species of dragonflies and damselflies, I would always see both the females and males of the species all the time.  With some other species, I have spotted the males often and from time to time I would catch sight of the females as well.  Even sometimes only when there is a pair in tandem or in wheel.  With a few other species, the females are just mysteriously absent!

I wonder where they are hiding?

With the Pantala flavescens, when I first came across this species it was a female dragonfly that I had spotted, and she was also perched on a twig, though just a little above eye level.

More places to keep a lookout!

 

Note: Click on "pantala" in the "Tags" below to read up on the female dragonfly.

 

 

From Dawn Till Dusk...

Dawn breaks...

 

Going out to sea at dawn.

 

Sunrise!

 

All still and calm in the morning.

 

Still at anchor.

 

A village still in slumber...

 

Rise and shine!

 

Getting an early start and living it up at Cenang Beach...

 

A Grasshopper... thinking about breakfast?

 

A Water Skater on a pond...

 

Another Grasshopper feeding on a ginger flower.

 

A Shield Bug... this guy's got a big honker!

 

Puddling butterflies!

 

A Common Green Frog staying cool in the shade.

 

A Skink basking in the late afternoon sun.

 

And, all too soon... it was dusk!

Of course, there were lots of dragonflies and damselflies in between too. 

Quite a day!

What a day!

 

 

A Blue Dawn

We often expect an array of amazing colours to light up the dawn skies. 

On this morning, it was just blue...

Yet, it was quite an attractive hue.