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 😀

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)

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.

 

Damselfly (14) – Ischnura Senegalensis [青紋細蟌]

Family : Coenagrionidae
Common Name : Common Bluetail
Status : Very Common
Location : Holland Woods, Kranji Nature Trail, Wild Wild West, etc.

(Mating with bright orange female – Holland Woods, 3 Mar 2008)

 

This is the 2nd most common damselfly species in Singapore. Similar to Bi-coloured damselfly, they are usually found around ponds, drains, lakes, canals, etc. The male is greenish blue in colour but the female occurs in several colour forms, including one with overall bright orange, another with dull olive colour and also one similar like the male.

(Mating with dull olive female – Holland Woods, 25 Jan 2010)

(Mating with a female that has similar colour of the male – Holland Woods, 7 Feb 2010)

Damselfly (12) – Devadatta Argyoides

Family : Amphipterygidae
Common Name : Malayan Grisette
Status : Uncommon
Location : Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail, Dairy Farm Nature Park

Male – Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail, 18 Feb 2009

This uncommon damselfly was first spotted on the same day as the Drepanosticta quadrata species less than 2 metres away. They seemed to be happy sharing the same territory although accasionally they bumped into one another and had a brief fight. Both will stay at a position for a long time and it was not a problem approaching them.  I read that, in Singapore, this species was spotted only at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve which is not true as 2nd sighting was at Dairy Farm Nature Park.  This species usually prefers to perch near clear forest streams.

Male – Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail, 16 Feb 2009

 Unlike other species, it has quite dull colour from head to tail making it difficult to spot in dimly lit streams. The males are greyish in colour while the females are more towards brown in colour.

Dragonfly (8) – Trithemis Aurora (紫紅蜻蜓)

Family : Libellulidae
Common Name : Crimson Dropwing
Status : Very Common
Location : Singapore Botanical Gardens, Segar Road, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Holland Woods, etc.

(Female – Holland Wood, 27 Dec 2007)

This Dawn Dropwing species is one of the most common dragonflies than can be found near ponds, open streams and lakes. They are very attractive looking and easily noticeable. The female has bright orange colour while the male is deep pink in colour. They are very quite easy to approach and usually not a problem to get some close-up shots.

(Male – Singapore Botanical Gardens, 6 Aug 2008)

(Male close-up – Venus Drive, 19 Feb 2008)

(Female close-up – Singapore Botanical Gardens, 27 Dec 2007)

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)

Damselfly (2) – Vestalis Amethystina

Family : Calopterygidae
Common Name :
Status : Common forest species
Location : Venus Drive, Rifle Range Nature Trail, Upper Peirce, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Bukit Timah Bicycle Trail, etc

This metallic green species is classified as a common forest damselfly but not many of us have seen it or photographed it. I saw my friend, Yi Xiong, captured in June last year at Chestnut Path and since then, it has been on my wish list. I am happy to have finally added it into my damesfly collection which was first spotted at Venus Drive.

(Female Vestalis amethystina – Venus Drive, 16 Sep 09)

What is so unique about this species is that it has one of the most attractive wings. Depending on viewing angle and reflecting sunlight, the clear wings of this damselfly can appear to sparkle with purplish blue colour. It is larger than the common damselflies with big broad wings. It was quite skittish and difficult to get close to it.  I really had a hard time chasing it up from the bushes and down to a small dark stream and vice verse several times. Easily one of my most tiring shoots that I have experienced. It was also not easy to set up my tripod in the stream and the poor lighting did not help. Despite all my efforts, these are the only decent shots that I managed to capture.

(Male – Rifle Range Nature Trail, 11 Feb 2009)