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)

Dragonfly (42) - Pornothemis starrei

Family : Libelluidae
Common Name : Mangrove Marshal
Status : Rare
Location : Punggol Forest

According to the Singapore Dragonflies Book, this is a rare mangrove dragonfly species spotted only at Pulau Ubin, Mandai & Lim Chu Kang.  The male has a black thorax & abdomen with dull greenish blue eyes. Females are said to have olive-coloured thorax.

During this morning's macro outing with many of my friends at Punggol forest, we were lucky to spot 2 males at a small muddy stream.   The surrounding was quite dark and this species preferred to perch lowly just above the water making it difficult to shoot.  Fortunately, it was quite cooperative allowing us to take some record shots. 

From the dorsal view, it looks like a bigger version of Chalybeothemis fluviatilis.  I hope I did not identify this species wrongly.

(Punggol Forest - 13 Nov 2010)

(Dorsal view - 13 Nov 2010)

Dragonfly (42) - Orchithemis Pruinans

Family : Libelluidae

Common Name : Blue Sentinel

Status : Rare

Location : Upper Peirce

This is a rare forest species which prefers to perch under shaded areas.  The male has dark thorax and abdomen.  Abdominal segments 2-4 are powdery bluish-white.  It looks very similar to the dark form of male Orchithemis Pulcherrima except that O. Pruinans is slighter larger and its abdomen is thinner and longer.  The white marking of O. Pulcherrima covers only the second and third segments of its abdomen. The female is said to be brown in colour which has not been recorded in Singapore.

(Male - Upper Peirce, 20 Sep 2010)

This male was spotted recently at Upper Peirce forest.  I have originally thought that it was an uncommon dark form male O. Pulcherrima, which I was glad to add to my collection.  Little did I know that it was actually a rare O. Pruinans making me even happier!  It is an easy subject to photograph as it stays at the fixed spot for a long period.  Even if it flew away, it would return or perch very nearby.  The only problem is the poor lighting as it always choose a shaded area to perch.  I saw quite a no. of them around the vincinity but I am unsure whether they were O. Pulcherrima or O. Pruinans now.

(Side view - Upper Peirce, 20 Sep 2010)

Reference : A photographic guide on Dragonflies of Singapore.

Dragonfly (41) - Nesoxenia Lineata

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Striped Grenadier
Status : Uncommon forest species
Location : Lornie Trail

According to the "Singapore Dragonfly Book", this is an uncommon forest species which has been recorded  only in MacRichie Reservior and Kent Ridge.  It looks quite similar to Agrionoptera Insignis especially from the side view.  My way of differiating these 2 species are (1) N. Lineata is slightly smaller than A. Insignis; (2) the dorsum of the thorax of N. Lineata is pale blue in colour; (3) for N. Lineata, only abdominal segments 6-8 are red in colour while the abdomen of A. Insignis is red throughout.  From the dorsal view, it also looks a little like the male Agrionoptera Sexlineata.

(Lornie Trail - 25 Aug 2010)

This was spotted along Lornie Trail just after the golf link, my first sighting.  It perched quite high up on a twig and I had to fully stretch the tripod on the board walk in order to get an eye level shot.  It stayed there for a long period without moving abit except glancing at me occasionally while I took pictures of it.  I wanted to get a dorsal view but it was too high up for me.

Dragonfly (39) - Gynacantha Subinterrupta

Family : Aeshnidae
Common Name : Dingy Duskhawker
Status : Uncommon forest species
Location : Tagore Forest

This uncommon species is large in size with an unique and attractive turquoish green eyes.  The male has a green thorax with green and blue markings on the base of its abdomen.  There is a distinct, dark T-shaped mark on the supper surface of the frons.

This was my first sighting of this dragonfly at the forested area in Tagore Drive this morning.  My first impression was that it should be a Gynacantha Dohrni as both look so similar in terms of size, colours and design.  I had seen G. Dohrni about 2 to 3 times at Venus Drive more than a year ago and, if I recalled correctly, G. Subinterrupta should be slightly bigger in size than G. Dohrni.

This dragonfly perched on a small tree trunk near a fast flowing stream.  The surrounding was quite dim under the forest canopy making it difficult to photograph.  Although I could only manage some records shots on the dorsal view and some close-up shots of it, I am happy to have added this species to my collection.  There are many small branches and leaves surrounding the perch and when I tried to clear them away hoping to get some side view shots, it flew away and disappeared into the forest.

(Male - Tagore Forest, 040910)

Afternote : I joined the Informal Macro Outing Group at Thanggam forest yesterday.  My friend, Allan Lee,  found a uncommon dragonfly and knowing that I like to collect dragonflies, he kindly offer me to shoot.  The surrounding was quite dim and it was difficult to identify its id there.  Mr Tang later confirmed that it was a female G. Subinterrupta which looks similar to the male except for its duller colours. 

(Female - Thanggam Forest, 25 Sep 2010) 

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 (37) - Chalybeothemis Fluviatilis

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Green-eyed Percher
Status : Uncommon
Location : Lornie Trail

This is a small and thin uncommon dragonfly which is slightly smaller than that of the Diplacodes Trivialis.  As its common name suggests, both sexes have attractive green eyes.  The thorax of the male is metallic dark blue colour.  Accordingly to the Dragonflies of Singapore's Photographic Guide Book, the female is similar but with brown colour on the dorsum of thorax and the wing base tinted with brownish yellow.

(Male - Lornie Trail, 23 Aug 2010)

Similar to my 2 previous posts, this male was also sighted at the edges of Macritchie Reservior along Lornie Trail.  A skittish species which did not allow me to go fewer than 2 metres near.  I could only shoot from the walking path looking down into the reservior water where this dragonfly perched just slightly above.  Even with my 1.4TC attached to a 180mm macro lens, this image was heavily cropped.  I hope to get an improvement shot of the male soon and to meet the female too!

Revisited Lornie Trail during my morning off this morning (25 Aug 2010) and was rewarded with another 3 new collection of dragonflies and some improvement shots of exisitng species.

(Front view - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

(Dorsal view - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

I was excited to witness a mating pair but fortunately it lasted only for a minute or so and I was too slow to get a good shot at them. 

(Mating pair - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

  

Dragonfly (36) - Indothemis Limbata

Family : Libelluidae

Common Name : Restless Demon
Status : Critically endangered
Location : Lornie Trail

This species is listed in the Singapore Red Data Book as critically endangered.  The male is dark blue in colour with some silver markings at the last few segments of its adbomen.  The colour of the female is said to be paler and is even more rare.

(Male - Lornie Trail, 23 Aug 2010)

On 23 Aug 2010, 2 males were spotted around the reservior edges along the Lornie Trail.  They perched on some leaves in the middle of the water making it difficult to shoot.  The above image was taken with my tripod set at the slope of the reservior edge.   I had to attach my 1.4TC to get a reasonable reach to this dragonfly.  Fortunately, it stayed at this perch for a long period enabled me to take some decent shots.

(Lornie Trail - 23 Aug 2010)

I revisited Lornie Trail on 25 Aug 2010 and I am glad to obtain an improvement shot of this species.

(Lornie Trail - 25 Aug 2010)

Dragonfly (35) - Aethriamanta Brevipennis

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Scarlet Adjudant
Status : Rare
Location : Lornie Trail

Aethriamanta BrevipennisIt is a small and short species but strongly built with broad abdomen.  The male is bright red in colour which looks a little like a small version of Orthetrum Chrysis.  The female is yellowish brown in colour.

(Male - Lornie Trail, 23 Aug 2010)

Today is my first encounter of this male species at Lornie Trail.  It preferred to perch lowerly, about 10 -15 cm above the reservior water and it appeared to enjoy perching under the bright sunlight.    As such, it is not easy to photograph and I could only manage some record shots.

(Male - Lornie Trail, 23 Aug 2010)

Dragonfly (34) - Aethriamanta Gracilis

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Pond Adjutant
Status : Uncommon
Location : Lornie Trail

Aethriamanta Gracilis is a small dragonfly which looks very identical to Brachydiplax Chalybea, except that it is smaller size and more open wing venation.  Similarly to B. Chalybea, males are more common than females.  There were about 8 to 10 nos. of male at some bushes along Lornie Trail and I think I spotted one female but I did not manage to capture it in pixel as it was flying without perching.  The males were quite skittish and therefore I could only manage some record shots.

(Male - Lornie Trail, 16 Aug 2010)

(Male - Lornie Trail, 16 Aug 2010)

(ID unknown - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010)

The female is said to be "yellowish brown in colour with black marking".  Based on this description, the above image could be a female A. Gracilis which was spotted on 25 Aug 2010.

(Side view - Lornie Trail, 25 Aug 2010 )

Afternote : After Mr C.Y. Choong commented that it is unlikely to be a female A. Gracilis, I wrote to Mr Tang H. B. for a second opinion.  He is certain that it is not any of the Aethrianmanta species as the venation does not match.  He also rules out the possibility of Trithemis festiva, judging from the markings on the thorax.  As this dragonfly was about the same size of Aethrianmanta gracilis, he felt that, for this reason, it is less likely to be Indothemis limbata.  However, he would not rule out this possibility as he has not seen a female Indothemis limbata himself.  He added that if it is really a Indothemis limbata, then this image could be the first female photo of the species taken in Singapore!  I have uploaded a side view shot (see above).

On 6 Sep 2010, I spotted 2 mating pairs but only managed to get a record shot (see right image) as dragonfly usually mates for less than a minute!

Dragonfly (33) - Trithemis Pallidinervis (灰脈蜻蜓)

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : Dancing Dropwing

Status : Uncommon

Location : Dairy Farm Nature Park, Lornie Trail

This is a medium sized yellowish brown dragonfly with relatviely long legs.  The male and female have similar marking. However, the face of male is metallic purple while the female is rather yellow white in colour.  It likes to perch in the open with its wings nicely folded up which make it easier to photograph.  It is a cooperative dragonfly and not difficult to get nice backgroung.  The challenges are the harsh sunlight and strong wind. 

(Female - Lornie Trail, 14 Aug 2010)

My first sighting of this elegant species was at Dairy Farm Nature Park a few months ago. I could not get any shot at that time as it was perching in the water, a distance from the board walk. I am glad to spot this species again this morning at Lornie Trail.  A little disappointed as I did not handle the harsh sunlight well.  I will definitely revisit Lornie Trail to get some improvement shots in the coming weeks.

(Female - Lornie Trail, 16 Aug 2010)

I revisited Lornie Trail 2 days later and I spotted about 4 to 5 nos. of this species perching near the edge of the reservior.  This lighting was better this time but it was as windy.  The green background in the above picture is the water, a lightly better shot, in my opinion.  I shall revisit this place soon :D

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)

A Book on Dragonflies of Singapore

A photographic guide to the Dragonflies of Singapore was officially launched on 2 August 2010. The book is published by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research of the National University of Singapore, and is co-authored by Tang Hung Bun, Wang Luan Keng and Matti Hämäläinen. The following is a short paragraph about the book:

"In 1854 Alfred Russel Wallace collected 30 dragonfly species from Singapore. Since then a total of 124 species have been recorded within the territorial limits of the nation, including seven new records made just in the last two years. Dragonflies of Singapore covers all these species. Informative textual accounts of all species and large, full-colour photographs of almost every species enable the reader to identify almost any dragonfly encountered in the field. This book is an essential tool to enthusiasts, naturalists and general readers who wish to learn about dragonflies. At the same time, it captures quintessentially their sublime and ephemeral beauty."

I am glad to receive a complimentary copy on 19 Aug 2010 from the Authors as I have contributed one of my damselflies photos in the book.  A very well written book with nice, colourful pictures of all 124 dragonflies species.  With such a quality book, it is not expensive at S$22. 

If you wish to purchase a copy of the book, it is now available for order at this nature bookstore.

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 (30) - Macrogomphus Quadratus

Family : Gomphidae

Common Name : Forktail

Status : Uncommon

Location : Upper Peirce

This is an uncommon dragonfly spotted at Upper Peirce.  My personal experience with hugh forest species is that they are skittish and once they flew off, they disappear and never come back.  But this one was an exception.  It was quite comfortable with me so long as I maintained a safe distance of about one metre.  It would fly away only if I attempted to get closer.  But the lucky thing was that it would come back and perch somewhere nearby.  

(Upper Peirce - 5 Jun 2010)

As this was my first time seeing this species , I took as many shots as possible to make sure that I got it right. Being a large subject, the main problem was the difficulty of getting an acceptable background.  I chose to use a large aperture of f5.6 & f8 for most of my shots.

(Side view)

(Doing stretching exercise)

Dragonfly (29) - Orthetrum Glancum (黑尾灰蜻)

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : Common Blue Skimmer

Status : Uncommon

Location : Rifle Range Nature Trail, Dairy Farm Nature Park

Orthetrum Glaucum is a medium size dragonfly species.  The males are blue in colour with a greyish at the tip of its abdomen.  The females are golden yellow in colour and they are less commonly found than the males.  They usually perch on messy bushes and sometimes on stones under the hot sunlight making it difficult to get nice shots.  So far I have sighted them at Dairy Farm Nature Park and Rifle Range Nature Trail.  Hope I can get an improvement shot soon.

(Rifle Range Nature Trail - 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 (27) - Pseudothemis Jorina

Family : Libellulidae

Common Name : Banded Skimmer

Status : Uncommon
Location : Upper Peirce, Eng Neo Ave

I have seen this uncommon black and white colour dragonfly at the forest edge of Upper Pierce. There were a few of them flewing non-stop without perching. I was surprised to see one perching quite far up at a small branch. Only managed a few lousy record shots.

(Upper Pierce - 19 Aug 2009)

I saw this dragonfly again at some bushes near Saddle Club (Eng Neo Ave) this morning. Unfortunately, the lighting was too harsh and it flew off before I could manage some improvement shots.

(Saddle Club, Eng Neo Ave - 5 May 2010)

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 (25) - Brachydiplax Chalybea

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Blue Dasher
Status : Common
Location : Singapore Botanical Gardens, Rifle Range Nature Trail, Segar Road

A relatively small-sized species commonly found in ponds. Males are blue in colour with dark patches while females are brown in colour. Female is less common than male. I have seen the female only once. By the way, I have initially thought that this is a Aethriamanta Gracilis. Both look very similar although B. Chalybea is slightly bigger in size.

(Male - Rifle Range Nature Trail, 22 Apr 10)

(Female - Segar Road, 3 Jan 2009)