Friday, January 21, 2011

Dragonfly (43) - Macromia cincta

Family : Corduliidae
Common Name : Stream Cruiser
Status : Rare
Location : Lornie Trail

According to the Book on Dragonflies of Singapore, this is a huge dragonfly which can be seen flying along forest trails near swampy areas.  It is a rare species which is knowm to be found at MacRitchie Resevior.

They have beautiful bluish-green eyes and there is an unmistakable whitish band on the side of its thorax.

I was glad to spot this dragonfly hanging on a tree branch when I went with 2 friends for odonata hunting at Lornie Trail yesterday.  The eyes of this dragonfly are more bluish in colour and my guess was that it should be a female which was later correctly confirmed by Mr Tang.  It was quite cooperative and I managed to take both the dorsal and side views.  Unfortunately the sunlight was harsh and I couldn't get a good shot of the dorsal view ie. the bright branch in the background is quite distracting.

Having said that, I am still happy with what I have as it is my first dragonfly post in 2011! 

(Lornie Trail - 20 Jan 2011)