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.

Gomphidae - Ictinogomphus decoratus

Libellulidae - Trithemis aurora

Pics Of The Week!

What can I say... it's been a great week spending lots of time up close with nature.

These are some of the pics taken this week of some of the dragonflies and damselflies.


Lestes praemorsus

Copera vittata

Prodasineura laidlawii

Trithemis aurora

Ictinogomphus decoratus

Orthetrum sabina

Crocothemis servilia

Brachydiplax chalybea

Libellulidae - Tyriobabta torrida

Chlorocyphidae - Libellago lineata

Another Great Day!

Look at that blue sky!  A great day to be in the outdoors!

And I have been out and about for twelve hours today, spending time with dragonflies and damselflies and with a great friend and putting my camera to good use. 

I had started out from the southeast of the island, went towards the centre, headed westward and ended the day in the northwest.  It's been an enjoyable day! 

Initially, I had intended to go to the forest trail and was thinking of looking for the Tyriobapta torrida again.  But on my way there, I decided to turn off to another area instead.  It was one of those spur of the moment decisions but I ended up spending a few hours at this place where there is a pond and a stream in an open area and this morning it was actually buzzing with dragonflies and damselflies and lots of other insects.

And It turned out to be a good move to follow my instinct.  I came across a very attractive looking damselfly in this place.  Another tick on the checklist!

It is really pretty, isn't it? 

And that yellow is rather striking!

This damselfly is the Libellago lineata of the family Chlorocyphidae.  The male damselfly has hindwing length of 17mm so you can imagine it is quite a tiny little creature. 

According to the Pocket Guide, this damselfly is widespread throughout tropical Asia.  Yet this is the first time I have come across it.  Probably because it seems to be rather discreet and hides well?  Or has it recently emerged from the pond?  Or did it migrate here recently? 

I had managed to get only three photos of it from where I stood, haviing just taken a few photos of a spreadwing damselfly, and when I moved, it flew off as well. 

Despite its bright yellow colour, I could not find it again though I looked quite hard for it.

But I did find a yellow grasshopper later...

Quite a beautiful day indeed!

Odonata Checklist - Langkawi

UPDATED ON: 07 APRIL 2011

ODONATA OF LANGKAWI ISLAND

ZYGOPTERA

Family Calopterygidae

Echo modesta (Laidlaw, 1902)
Neurobasis chinensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Vestalis gracilis (Rambur, 1842)

Family Chlorocyphidae

Heliocypha biforata (Selys, 1859)
Libellago lineata (Burmeister, 1839)

Family Lestidae

Lestes praemorsus decipiens (Kirby, 1893)
Platylestes heterostylus (Lieftinck, 1932)

Family Coenagrionidae

Aciagrion borneense (Ris, 1911)
Aciagrion hisopa (Selys, 1876)
Agriocnemis femina (Brauer, 1868)
Argiocnemis rubescens rubeola (Selys, 1877)
Ceriagrion auranticum  (Fraser, 1922)
Ceriagrion cerinorubellum (Brauer, 1865)
Ischnura senegalensis (Rambur, 1842)
Pseudagrion australasiae (Selys, 1876)
Pseudagrion microcephalum (Rambur, 1842)

Family Platycnemididae

Copera ciliata (Selys, 1863)
Copera vittata (Selys, 1863)

Family Protoneuridae

Prodasineura humeralis (Selys, 1860)
Prodasineura laidlawii (Forster, 1907)

 

ANISOPTERA

Family Gomphidae

Ictinogomphus decoratus melaenops (Selys, 1858)
Paragomphus capricornis (Forster, 1914)

Family Aeshnidae

Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839)

Family Libellulidae

Acisoma parnorpoides (Rambur, 1842)
Aethriamanta brevipennis (Rambur, 1842)
Aethriamanta gracilis (Brauer, 1878)
Brachydiplax chalybea (Brauer, 1868)
Brachydiplax farinosa (Kruger, 1902)
Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius, 1793)
Cratilla lineata (Brauer, 1878)
Cratilla metallica (Brauer, 1878)
Crocothemis servilia (Drury, 1770)
Diplacodes nebulosa (Fabricius, 1793)
Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur, 1842)
Hydrobasileus croceus (Brauer, 1867)
Indothemis limbata (Selys, 1891)
Neurothemis fluctuans (Fabricius, 1793)
Neurothemis fulvia (Drury, 1773)
Orthethrum chrysis (Selys, 1891)
Orthethrum glaucum (Brauer, 1865)
Orthethrum sabina (Drury, 1770)
Orthethrum testaceum (Burmeister, 1839)
Pantala flavescens (Fabricius, 1798)
Potamarcha congener (Rambur, 1842)
Rhodothemis rufa (Rambur, 1842)
Rhyothemis obsolescens (Kirby, 1889)
Rhyothemis phyllis (Sulzer, 1776)
Rhyothemis triangularis (Kirby, 1889)
Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798)
Tramea transmarina euryale (Selys, 1878)
Trithemis aurora (Burmeister, 1839)
Trithemis festiva (Rambur, 1842)
Tyriobapta torrida (Kirby, 1889)
Urothemis signata insignata (Selys, 1872)
Zygonyx iris malayana (Rambur, 1842)

Blue, Blue, Blue... Blue Is Beautiful!

I am still buoyed by the high of being on cloud nine having spent yesterday out exploring; when time stood still and I had been completely immersed in nature.

Add to that, to have this dragonfly flutter past my face and land to perch so close to me was an added bonus.

This dragonfly is the Tyriobapta torrida of the family Libellulidae.  According to The Pocket Guide, this dragonfly is "obvious by virtue of dark, slightly iridescent patch at hindwing base."  The male has hindwing length of 25-26 mm and these dragonflies can be found in forest swamps.

It is a beautiful dragonfly indeed.  And such a beautiful blue!

Sometimes, to have a dragonfly perched at such close proximity also makes it tricky for photography as I hadn't dared move much in case I scared it away before I could take any photos.

So these are the two best shots I did get and when I shifted again for a different angle, it did flutter away to land momentarily on a rock and then it flew off and disappeared...

Maybe I will find a pair of them the next time... who knows?

These dragonflies and nature itself always keep me in awe.

Who wouldn't?  After all, nature is just amazing... and nature keeps putting on such beautiful performances at sunset.  This is the view from my balcony this evening...

Here's a toast to nature!

Love Is In The Air...

We often complain the day is too hot.  Until it starts raining endlessly for days and days.  And then we start wishing the sun would come out.

Soon, it is back to square one.  It is a vicious cycle.

When will we stop complaining?  When will we start being grateful for everything that we do have, be thankful for a good night's sleep and greet each new day with a smile?

Anyway, the sun came out early this morning.  And a lot of people took the opportunity to get out there and enjoy the day, including myself.

All those algal blooms in those dammed streams have been washed away and the streams are flowing as clearly as it should be.  The water levels are up in those ponds.  And a lot of creatures are rejoicing. 

Who wouldn't?

Nature reigns!

Anyway, I came across a few butterfly catchers, a "hunter" with a heavy pack on his back and a pack of faithful dogs at his heels, and many, many more.
One of the butterfly catchers, the wife, is seen here taking a lunch break, looks like a husband-and-wife team... and look at that big net.  They don't look like locals and there was a "Kasina" rented car in the parking lot as well.  I certainly hope they don't catch all our butterflies to extinction.  Unfortunately, there is nothing much to stop them and my presence did not deter them... quite unlike the Japanese student cum butterfly catcher several weeks ago who did a 180 degree turn each time wchinner walked up towards him.  Frankly, it was quite hilarious!



And this "hunter", or poacher?  ...with his pack of dogs.  A large monitor lizard practically sprinted and clambered up a tree at great speed to get away from those dogs.  Quite a scene... though only recorded in my mind's eye and not on film.

That lizard's heart would have been pumping and racing mad.  But... beautiful dogs!  These dogs had a quick dip in the stream too.  Ahhh... those picnickers taking a dip and soaping themselves downstream unaware of what's upstream... I had a wicked thought!

These grasshoppers were certainly celebrating too!

And here's a Five-bar Swordtail Butterfly that got away...

Also, I think I might have another dragonfly to add to my checklist for Langkawi. 

Yippee!