Dragonfly (28) - Diplacodes Trivalis (侏儒蜻蜓)

Family : Libelludidae

Common Name : Chalky percher, Blue percher or Ground Skimmer

Status : Common

Location : Wild Wild West, Chestnut Ave, Jurong Woods II, Lornie Trail

This is a relatively small-sized dragonfly that usually prefers to perch lowly on grass. The male has beautiful blue eyes, a blue-grey body with black on the tail. The female has green eyes, greenish body and black markings on its tail. They are quite skittish in the day or late morning. Best time to shoot them is early in the morning while they are probably still sleeping.

(Female - Wild Wild West, 21 Mar 10)

(Female close-up - Wild Wild West, 21 Mar 10)

(Male - Wild Wild West, 8 Jun 08)

(Male close-up - Wild Wild West, 8 Jun 08)

Dragonfly (26) - Camacinia Gigantea

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Sultan
Status : Rare
Location : Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail, Chestnut Ave

My first sighting of this dragonfly species was at Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail.  I did not get any shots as it was flying non-stop.  I thought, at that time, that it was a huge Neurothemis as they share similar colour and pattern. The size of this species is almost double that of Neurothemis.  I spotted it again but this time at Chestnut Ave Bicycle Trail and managed some record shots.

(Male - Chestnut Ave, 23 Feb 2009)

Dragonfly (24) - Neurothemis Fluctuans

Family : Neurothemis fluctuans
Common Name : Common Parasol
Status : Very common
Location : Almost anywhere in Singapore where there are bushes near ponds, streams, lake, reservoirs, etc.

This is easily one of the most common dragonfly species that you can find in Singapore. They are so common that most of the photographers, me included, would give it a miss when seeing them.

(Male - Venus Drive, 25 Nov 2008)

(Female - Venus Drive, 24 Oct 2009)

Dragonfly (23) - Rhyothemis Triangularis

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Sapphire Flutterer
Status : Uncommon
Location : Chestnut Ave, Venus Drive, Eng Neo Ave

Rhyothemis Triangularis is an unmistakable species.  The male has distinct dark metallic blue colour on its wings. Female is similar to the male but the base of its wings are darker.  This uncommon male species was first sighted at Venus Drive but I gave it a miss as I had not started collecting Odonata at that time.  My 2nd sighting was at Chestnut Ave.   I only managed a few record shots before it flew away.

(Male - Chestnut Avenue, 2 Nov 2009)

My 3rd sighting was at Eng Neo Ave but unfortunately, I still did not get nice images of it. I have yet to meet the female. In my opinion, it is best to take from a dorsal view to show its beautiful wings. I shall do that next time.

(Male - Eng Neo Ave, 2010)

My 4th sighting of this species was at Jurong Woods II.  Unfortunately, it was too sensitive to me and I could not get close to it.  I was bitten by a water leeches while chasing for it!  My 5th meeting was at Lornie Trail on 25 Aug 2010 and this time I managed to set a reasonable dorsal view showing the beautiful wings of this dragonfly.

(Lornie Trail - 25 Aug 2010)

Dragonfly (22) - Rhyothemis Obsolescens

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Bronze Flutterer
Status : Uncommon
Location : Chestnut Ave, Rifle Range Nature Trail

This species can be easily identified by its bronze wings and dark marking. Both male and female are similar in appearance. They like to perch under direct sunlight. I have only seen this dragonfly in an open marshes near Chestnut Avenue. Unfortunately, before I could get a better shot of it, the place is now under redevelopment  for private residential purposes.

(Rifle Range Nature Trail - 22 Apr 2010)

My 2nd sighting of this species was at Rifle Range Nature Trail.  I am glad to capture some improvement shots of it.

(Rifle Range Nature Trail - 22 Apr 2010)

Dragonfly (19) - Diplacodes Nebulosa

Family : Libelluidae

Common name : Black-tipped Percher

Status : Uncommon

Location : Chestnut Ave

This is a small-sized dragonfly species and I have only seen it once at Chestnue Avenue. The male is dark blue in colour with small dark patch at the tip of its wings.  The female has light yellowish in colour, quite different from the male.

(Male - Chestnut Avenue, 1 Aug 09)

(Female - Chestnut Avenue, 1 Aug 2009)

(Male - Chestnut Ave, 1 Aug 2009)

Damselfly (20) - Archibasis Melanocyana

Family : Coenagrionidae
Common name : Blue-nosed Sprite
Status : Rare
Location : Chestnut Ave

I went to Chestnut Ave to search for the unique Lestes Praemorsus Decipiens on 1 Aug 2009.  I did not find it but I saw this rare species instead.  I did not know that it was rare at that time and I did not make an effort to get some good shots.  Sadly, this place is destroyed and is under redevelopment for a condomium.

(Chestnut Ave, 1 Aug 2009)

(Chestnut Ave, 1 Aug 2009)

Damselfly (19) - Lestes praemorsus (隱紋絲蟌)

Family : Lestidae
Common name : Scalloped Spreadwing
Status : Uncommon
Location : Lornie Trail, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Chestnut Ave

Lestes Praemorsus is an uncommon species, first recorded in Singapore in 1997. It is known to be occured only in Macrichite Reservior. It is a medium-sized species which rests with its wings half-open. It has a unique hockey stick-shaped rather than straight obdomen.

(Chestnut Ave - 2 Nov 2009)

I went to Macrichite Reservior to search for this beautiful damselfly on 2 occasions but could not locate it. When Dairy Farm Nature Reserve Park was officially opened on 5 Sep 09, a picture of this mating damselfly was featured the next day in the Sunday Times. I went to Dairy Farm to try my luck and I was glad to have spotted a female perching just above the water at the Quarry. I could only take a record shot of it from a distance as we are not allowed to go down to the water. I hope it could perch in a better place during my next visit so that I could take an improvement shot.

(Lornie Trail - 14 Aug 2010)

I read that this species has since been found in several other places such as Pulau Tekong Reservior, Upper Seletar Reservior, etc. My friend, Eddy Lee, had recently photographed one at Chestnut Avenue.  He told me the exact location where he found this species and I am happy to get a slightly improvement shot of it.

I saw this species photographed by a new found friend, Federick Ho, at Lornie Trail.  He directed me on where to find this species.  I went there on 14 Aug 2010 and there were about 8 nos. perching lowly along the edges of Macrichite Reservior.  Got some shots but still plenty of rooms for improvement.

On 6 Sep 2010, I was happy to spot a mating pair where the female was laying its eggs into the water.

 

Dragonfly (14) - Rhyothemis Phyllis

Family : Libellulidae
Common name : Yellow-Barred Flutterer
Status : Common
Location : Holland Woods, Chinese Gardens, Jurong Woods II, Kranji Nature Trail, Chestnut Ave, Lornie Trail

This is a common dragonfly species and is easily recognisable by it back and yellow markings on its wings. A beautiful dragonfly that prefers to perch on very thin leaves or stems making it quite difficult to photograph as a slight breeze would cause the perch to swing resulting in motion blur.

(Holland Woods - 22 Aug 2009)

Damselfly (18) - Prodasineura Humeralis

Family : Protoneuridae
Common Name : Orange-striped Threadtail
Status : Uncommon
Location : Chestnut Ave

Despite being a common species in Malaysia, this forest damselfly was recorded for the first time in Singapore at Chestnut area in Oct 2006. So I was glad to have spotted this uncommon  species at a stream along Chestnut Avenue Bicycle Trail on 4 Oct 2009. Not a difficult species to get close and it often returned to the same perch. But I observed that it preferred to perch very lowly just above the water surface of the fast moving stream making it tiring and difficult to get a good angle shot. The lighting was also not ideal as it usually chose a shaded perch. The colour of the male is generally dark brown from head to tail with some orange markings on its abdominal segment.

(Male - Chestnut Ave, 6 Oct 2009)

There were about 3 males in the steam when I revisited the place on 6 Oct 09. A female was spotted about 30 metres away from the stream. It has duller brown in colour with white marking on its abdomen. Initially, I thought it was a species that I had photographed before and as it was already quite late, I just took about 4 record shots and left. I regretted after I realised that it was a female of this species which reportedly is more uncommon than the males. I shall visit the place again to get an improvement shot.

(Female - Chestnut Ave, 6 Oct 2009)

Damselfly (15) - Copera marginipes [黃狹扇蟌]

Family : Platycnemidae
Common name : Yellow Featherlegs
Status : Common
Location : Chestnut Ave, Segar Road, Venus Drive, Jurong Woods II

This is classified as a common species but not many of us have seen or phogographed it in Singapore. The male has beautiful yellowish thorax, a black obdomen with white marking on it.

(Male - Chestnut Avel, 4 Aug 2009)

The male was first spotted at a stream near Venus Drive but I did not manage to get any shot as it was difficult to approach. Two males were seen perching in a drain near Segar Road few week later. I managed to get some record shots but was still unable to get closer to it. I finally captured a better shot when I found the male again at a stream along Chestnut Avenue Bicycle Trail. This time, the female which has an overall black thorax and obdomen was also found nearby.

(Female - Chestnut Avenue, 4 Aug 2009)

When I revisited the place again 2 day later, a juvenile was found. It has a unique overall white in colour.

(Juvenile - Chestnut Ave, 6 Aug 2009)

(Mating - Chestnut Ave, 26 Aug 2009)

My recent sighting of this species where the juvenile, male, female as well as 2 mating pairs were spotted at a small muddy stream at Jurong Woods II on 21 Aug 2010.

Dragonfly (5) - Cratilla Metallica

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name  : Dark-tipped Forest Skimmer
Status : Common forest species
Location : Venus Drive, Jurong Woods, Jurong Woods II, Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail, Chestnut Ave, etc.

This is quite a large dragonfly and are commonly found in forested areas. The male has a metallic blue thorax and dark blue abdomen with light blue bands near its abdominal base. The females are less commonly seen which has attractive metallic turqoish abdomen.  This species is easily recognised by its dark patch at the tip of its wings.

(Male - Jurong Woods, 28 Nov 2009)

My first encounter of this species was a male at Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail but I did not manage to capture it in pixel.  My 2nd sighting of the male was at Jurong Woods.  It was cooperative this time and I was able to take some decent shots.

(Female - Venus Drive, 4 Feb 2009)

I was happy to find a female of the species at Venus Drive in Feb 2009. It was perching on a dry twig in the late morning near a stream. It is not difficult to spot as its metallic turqoise body makes it stands out from the dull surrounding. It was relatively easy to get close but the ground condition with lots of dry leaves and fallen branches made it difficult to get a better composition.  In my view, the female looks more attractive to me.

(Female side view - Venus Drive, 4 Feb 2009)

Dragonfly (2) - Nannophya Pygmaea [小紅蜻蜓]

Family : Libellulidae
Common name : Pygmy Dragonfly
Status : Common
Location : Lornie Trail, Rifle Range Nature Trail, Chestnut Ave, Upper Peirce

(Not fully Matured Male - Chestnut Ave, 4 Jan 2009)

Nannophya pygmaea (or pypmy) is one of the smallest dragonflies species in the world and certainly the smallest dragonfly that can be found in Singapore. It has a total length of approximately 15mm long and a wingspan of only about 20mm.

(Mature Male - Rifle Range Nature Trail, 20 Feb 2010)

The mature male (above pictures) is almost entire red particularly on its eyes and body.  The immature males is yellowish brown in colour (see below).  The female's abdomen has bands of brown and white.

They are very cooperative and photographing them is relatively easy. The challenge is to get a uniform background and a good angle having its wings not covering their faces which I didn't quite manage to do it for these 3 images.   I have seen the female but I have yet to get any shot of it yet.

(Immature male - Chestnut Ave, 4 Jan 2009)