Dragonfly (40) - Urothemis Signata

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Scarlet Basker
Status : Common
Location : Lornie Trail

This is another common dragonfly but my first sighting was only recently at Lornie Trail.  The eyes, thorax  and abdomen are all red in colour. From the dorsal view, there are 2 black marks near the abdomen tip.  I may have seen this species before and mistaken it as Crocothemis Servilia.  Both are all red in colour and you need to take a closer look to differentiate them.

(Male - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

There were quite a no. of them flying near the reservior edge and a few of them appeared to enjoy perching under the hot sunlight. I was lucky to find one that perched comfortably under a shaded tree which made it easier for me to shoot. The female is said to be light yellow brown in colour which I hope to see one soon.

Dragonfly (38) - Macrodiplax Cora

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Coastal Glider
Status : Common
Location : Lornie Trail

M. Cora is a middle-sized dragonfly species with a relatively large head.  The male has a dark brown thorax and its abdomen is red in colour while the female has light orange-yellow thorax and abdomen.  The immatured male looks similar to the female except that its colours is a little darker.  Both sexes have distinguishable thick broken black marking on the upperside of the abdomen. 

(Immatured male - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

Although this species is classified as common, strangely, this was my first sighting in my 3 years of chasing dragonflies.  There were 2 of them perching on a dry twig quite a distance from the reservior.  Occasionally, they would fight one another but returned to the same perch.  An easy species to photograph.

(Frontal view - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

Dragonfly (32) - Orthetrum Chrysis

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : Spine-tufted Skimmer

Status : Common
Location : Rifle Range Nature Trail, Venus Drive

This is a common and relatively unattractive dragonfly species.  It is not easy to get a nice shot as they are usually quite sensitive to human.  I often gave it a miss and therefore, I am not surprised that I could only found one record image in my harddisk.  I shall make an effort to spend sometime on this species and get a better shot next time. 

(Rifle Range Nature Trail - 22 Apr 2010)

Dragonfly (31) - Trithemis Festiva

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : Indigo Dropwing
Status : Common
Location : Venus Drive

Trithemis Festiva is not really an uncommon species as I have seen them a few times at the stream near the entrance of Venus Drive.  They love to perch under strong sunlight and are quite active in the late morning.  Thus, getting a good shot of them is not easy.  This record shot was taken more than 1.5 years ago and it is a shame that I have not been able to get improvement shots of this beauty since then.

(Venus Drive - 6 Jan 2009)

Spotted this dragonfly at a stream in Endau-Rompin National Park.

(Endau-Rompin National Park - 31 Aug 2010)

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 (21) - Orthetrum Sabina

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Variegated Green Skimmer
Status : Common
Location : West Coast Park, Chinese Gardens, Jurong Woods II, Toa Payoh Town Gardens.

A relatively large dragonfly species. Quite commonly found near ponds. I have seen them at many locations such as Chinese Gardens, West Coast Park, Jurong Woods II, Toa Payoh Town Gardens, etc. The appearance of the male and female is almost identical. They are usually quite skittish and not easy to photograph.

(West Coast Park - 28 Feb 2008)

(West Coast Park - 28 Feb 2008)

Dragonfly (20) - Orthetrum Testaceum

Family : Libellulidae
Common name : Scarlet Skimmer
Status : Common
Location : Singapore Botanical Gardens, Lornie Trail

(Male - Singapore Botanical Gardens)

A common dragonfly often found in ponds. Male has dark brown-coloured thorax with redish abdomen while female is brown with obscure marking. Males are more common than females. The male looks very similar to Orthetrum Chrysis. 

(Mating, Singapore Botanical Gardens - 22 Jan 2008)

Dragonfly (16) - Pantala Flavescens

Family : Libellulidae
Common name : Globe Skimmer (or Wandering Glider)
Status : Common
Location : Wild Wild West, Hort Park

(Wild Wild West, 10 Oct 2009)

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)

Dragonfly (13) - Ictinogomphus Decoratus Melaenops

Family : Gomphidae
Common Name : Common Flangetail
Status : Common
Location : West Coast Park, Venus Drive, Lornie Trail, Rifle Range Nature Trail, Singapore Botanical Gardens

(Venus Drive, 25 Feb 2009)

This is one of the biggest dragonflies (about 12 cm long) that I have seen in Singapore, easily 4 times the size of Asian Pintail (see previous post). It is classified as a very common species but I would consider it relatively common as I have spotted them only 4 or 5 times so far.  I first spotted it at West Coast Park and recently at a slow-moving open stream in Venus Drive. It has a aggresive look maybe due to its huge size and certainly not an easy species to get close. The nearest distance that I was able to shoot was more than a metre away but fortunately, it often returned to the same twig where it perched.

On 13 Sep 2010, I finally got an improvement shot of this giant dragonfly.

(Singapore Botanical Gardens - 13 Sep 2010)

Dragonfly (12) - Acisoma Panorpoides (錐腹蜻蜓)

Family : Libellulidae
Common name : Asian Pintail
Status : Common

This is a relatively small species commonly found in shrub-dominated streams, canals, drains, ponds, etc. The female is greenish grey in colour while the male has black & white body with attractive blue eyes. I have seen them in the grass patches near Holland Woods and a steam near Segar Road sometime in Mid June 08. On both occasions, I had difficulty getting near to them and did not manage to get good shots. It was almost a year later on 9 May 09 when I revisited Holland Woods, did I manage to get some improvement shots of the male. It was at 7.30 am and this male was probably fast asleep allowing me to go very near to capture some close-up shots as well.

(Male - Holland Woods, 9 May 2009)

(Female - Holland Woods, 30 Mar 2010)

In Mar 2010, I was lucky again to find a sleeping female at Holland Woods.  It was pretty early in the morning and there were some dews on its body giving it a refleshing look. 

(Holland Woods - 20 Mar 2010)

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 (10) - Agrionoptera Insignis

Family : Libellulidae
Common name : Grenadier
Status : Common

This is classified as an uncommon species but I have seen them on many occasions such as Venus Drive, West Coast Park, Rifle Rifle Range Nature Trail, Jurong Woods, Jurong Woods II, Wild Wild West, etc. Generally,k, they are usually found in sluggish streams & shady drains.  Quite a common species in my opinion. 

(Male - Venus Drive, 25 Feb 2009)

The male has a a prominent red obdomen while the female is thicker and duller in colour.  A very cooperative species which usually perches around the same spot for a prolonged period.

(Female - Venus Drive, 15 Jan 2009)

(Male closeup - West Coast Park, 31 Jan 2009)

Dragonfly (9) - Tyriobapta torrida

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Treehugger
Status : Common
Location : Venus Drive

Female - Venus Drive, 29 Dec 2008

This tree-hugging dragonfly is a common forest species. Both sexes likes to hug tree trunks especially the female. The males can be found perching in dark shady streams as well. The female is light brown in colour with nice pattern on its obdomen while the male has quite a difference appearance. It is dark blue in colour with large black patch at the base of both wings. When they are perching on tree trunks, it is quite easy to photograph as they always come back to the same spot. And with the tree trunks, one would not need to worry too much of the winds.

Male - Venus Drive, 29 Dec 2008)

Dragonfly (7) - Crocothemis Servilia (猩紅蜻蜓)

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Common Scarlet
Status : Common
Location : Holland Woods, Jurong Woods II, Sungei Buroh Wetland Reserve

(Male - Holland Woods, 8 Nov 2008)

The Crocothemis servilia dragonfly is quite widespread in Singapore. The male has an overall striking red colour while the female is yellow in colour. They are quite big in size and are commonly found in Holland Wood, Sungei Buroh Wetland Reserve, etc.

(Female - Holland Woods, 12 Oct 2008)

(Male - Holland Woods, 26 Mar 2008)

Damselfly (8) - Pseudagrion Microcephalum

Family : Coenagrionidae
Common Name : Blue Sprite
Status : Common
Location : Singapore Botanical Gardens, Chinese Gardens, Lornie Trail

(Male - Lornie Trail, 23 Aug 2010)

This blue sprite damselfly is a beautiful species which is commonly found in ponds and open streams. The male is characterised by an overall bright light blue colour with black stripes on its thorax. The female is light brown with obscure greenish markings. The males are more commonly seen than the females.

(Female - Dairy Farm Nature Park, 25 Apr 2010)

Surprisingly, despite such a common and attractive species, I don’t see many of us photographing it. The reasons could be that they are not an easy species to approach and their habits of perching very lowly in the streams making it difficult to shoot. I personally have seen them many times in Singapore Botanical Gardens and Jurong lakes but have ignored them until recently when I decided to make an effort to shoot it when I spotted many of them in a small stream at Venus Drive. I was lucky to find a mating pair but didn’t have a good shot as the ground and lighting conditions were not ideal.

(Mating pair - Venus Drive, 13 Feb 2009)

(Male closeup - Venus Drive, 13 Feb 2009)

My recent sighting of this species was at Lornie Trail where there are plenty of them.  I was fortunate to capture a mating pair at the edge of the nearby reservior.

(Mating pair - Lornie Trail, 16 Aug 2010)

Dragonfly (6) - Orchithemis Pulcherrima

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : Variable Sentinel

Status : A common forest species (Red form are more common than blue form)
Locatin : Upper Seletar Reservior, Upper Peirce, Sime Track

This is a relatively small forest dragonfly. The males have many colour forms.  The red form male is one of the most common forest dragonflies.  My first sighting was at a small stream perching on a hanging branch on 8 Feb 09 at about 3 pm. The breeze, the thin perch as well as the low light condition made it difficult to get a sharp image. I was fortunate to spot another one at Sime Track on 19 Feb 09 in the morning and this time it was resting on a firm branch allowing me to take a better shot of it.

(Male, Red Form - Sime Track, 19 Feb 2009)

The females also have different colour forms.  The following images are some of the colour forms.  I have yet to see the red colour form of the female which is said to be rare.

(Female, brownish abdomen - Venus Drive, 22 Jul 09

According to Mr Choong, the following dragonfly looks like a female Orchithemis pulcherrima - a blue form. He said "I have seen red form female O. pulcherrima of young to very matured ones. The colour of very matured female red pulcherrima is not as black as this. Furthermore, there is a trace light colour on the S2-3. So, I personal think it could be a blue form female O. pulcherrima."

(Female, Blue form - Upper Peirce)

(Female, blue form - side view)

(Female, dark form - Lornie Trail, 1 June 2011)

Damselfly (7) - Prodasineura Notostigma

Family : Protoneuridae
Common Name : Crescent Threadtail
Status : Common Forest Species
Location : Upper Seletar Reservoir

(Upper Seletar Reservoir, 8 Feb 2009)

This is a common forest damselfly that can be found near slow moving streams. It was first sighted at Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.  There were quite a no. of them.  A very cooperative species that stay on a perch at long period.   Getting close-up shot of them them is not an issue.

(Upper Seletar Reservoir, 8 Feb 2009)

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 (4) - Tholymis Tillarga

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : White-barred Duskhawk
Status : Common
Location : Venus Drive, Upper Peirce, Macritchie Nature Trail

This is a common forest dragonfly. The male body is reddish in colour including adbomen. Both wings are transparent with the high wing with white and brown on the base. The female is less attractive with yellowish in colour and its hind wings have translucent brown near the base.

(Male - Venus Drive, 21 Jan 2009)

 A good time to photograph this species is during morning and early afternoon when they are less active and are usually seen hanging on to the side twigs. It is not difficult to get close to it but once you scare them off, they are unlikely to come back on the same perch or in the vincinity.

(Male & Female - Macritchie Nature Trail, 29 Jan 2009)