Panti Forest

Location:
Panti Forest, Kota Tinggi, Malaysia
Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Gomphidae

Heliogomphus kelantanensis (?)

Macrogomphus parallelogramma (?)

Libellulidae

Lyriothemis biappendiculata

Rhyothemis obsolescens

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Calopterygidae

Vestalis gracilis/amoena/amethystina

Chlorocyphidae

Heliocypha biforata

Libellago stigmatizans

Sundacypha petiolata

Megapodagrionidae

Rhinagrion mima

Euphaeidae

Dysphaea dimidiata

Euphaea impar

Protoneuridae

Prodasineura laidlawii

This few weeks, Professor M. H. visited Singapore. We took the chance to go up to Kota Tinggi in Johor with him and Mr. Tang on Labour Day.
We went into a stream in Panti Forest. The sand banks on this stream made it a good breeding spot for Gomphids, in fact, we spotted a few zooming up and down the river, however, we were unable to identify it as Prof. M.H. was not with us at that time. However, my brother found a teneral Leptogomphus species.

The few odonata species I saw today were all new to me. I also learned to identify a few species.
Prodasineura laidlawii can be differed from the other Prodasineura species as the end of the abdomen is almost totally blue, and the blue marks on the thorax are thin as compared to the other P. species.

There were many Heliocypha biforata flying around the place. There is a obvious pink patch above the light blue thorax, completed by a black abdomen with slight blue markings.

We also observed quite a few Libellago stigmatizans male species flying about. They generally prefer to perch near the water surface, not unlike the Libellago aurantiaca. There were two males engaged in territorial fights, and we also found a dead one in a spider web. A female was ovipositing, with the male flying over it as protection. The white legs of the male were clearly seen to be extended when it was circling.

When we branched off into another side stream, this one with water not as clear and more underwater growth, we found several species of Sundacypha petiolata, including two males engaged in territorial fights and a mating pair.

Drepanosticta quadrata was collected at this stream when Prof M. H., Mr. Tang and my father visited it last week. It is therefore not endemic to only Singapore, as previously thought, but also to Southern Johor.

We visited 陈伯伯果园 to clean up and also visit the dogs and cats :)
There were 3 baby kittens! (opened eyes already haha.)
There were also two young dogs. The puppies from the previous visit have all grown up and none seem to recognize us except for the king, which we've known since it was very young (and far from the king position).

A fruitful trip!

Dairy Farm 2 (stream + Paragomphus spot)

Location:
Dairy Farm stream
Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Aeshnidae

Gynacantha basiguttata / Gynacantha demeter / Gynacantha dohrni

Gomphidae

Paragomphus capricornis

Libellulidae

Agrionoptera sexlineata

Neurothemis flactuans

Orthetrum Chrysis

Tholymis tillarga

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Amphipterygidae

Devadatta argyoides

Coenagrionidae

Pericnemis stictica

Platycnemidae

Copera marginipes

Protoneuridae

Prodasineura notostigma

We went to a sandy-based stream near the possible breeding spot of Paragomphus capricornis we found two posts back. The above list comprises of all that we saw (with the exception of the capricornis which we then saw when we visited the possible breeding spot afterwards).

We first walked downstream. The time was about 9:15am, and there wasn't a lot of Odonata about. However, we saw two red crabs mating. We also spotted a resting Tholymis tillarga, which is a crepuscular species (comes out at dawn and dusk).
Quite a few all black Devadatta argyoides were spotted. Their wings are edged at the tip with a black band.
Later on, on our trek back upstream, we spotted the Pericnemis stictica, which is a very large species of damselfly, in fact, the largest damselfly in Singapore.
We then saw a male Agrionoptera sexlineata. The female can be differentiated from the male by the bands on the tail. The female has yellow bands while the male has red ones.
Dad and my brother later spotted the Gynacantha species flying about, but unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to track it.

We spotted the capricornis again this time, however, it did not stay as long as it did last week.
We also spotted an Gynacantha species, either basiguttata, demeter or dohrni, ovipositing at a muddy bank there. It flew back and forth between 3 spots, laying its eggs systematically. When disturbed by my brother, it flew around the area before returning to its first spot. I was amazed because there was a limited amount of water there. The tiny stream, if it could be called that, was only about 1cm deep and not very clear.

An interesting trip indeed!

Neo Teo

Location:
Neo Teo
Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Libellulidae

Diplacodes trivialis

Brachythemis contaminata

Trithemis pallipinervis

Macrodiplax cora

Tramea transmarina

This morning we went along Neo Teo, around Sungei Buloh, originally for cycling, but in the end the bike rental shop wasn't open, so we walked instead.
Well, here's a picture of what the pond looked like:


Trithemis pallipinervis is different from the other, more commonly seen, Trithemis species in a rather obvious way when you see it perched. T. aurora is also known as Dawn Dropwing, T. festiva as Indigo Dropwing, the name coming from the fact that their wings droop when they are at rest. However, T. pallipinervis rests with wings raised above, as if as a mirror image of the other two T. sp. more commonly seen in Singapore.
Tramea transmarina is also a migratory dragonfly, like Pantala flavescens.
Macrodiplax cora has very sparse wing venations, with a long black stripe down its abdomen.

Apart from the various dragonflies, we also saw some birds, including the Slaty Breasted Rail. I also heard the Purple Swamp Hen, while my dad and brother saw it fly (how lucky xD)

In the afternoon we also went to Sentosa, so on an entirely unrelated note, here's a photo of a Nudibranch (possibly) that we saw:

Dairy Farm

Location:
Dairy Farm
Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Gomphidae

Paragomphus capricornis

Whoa, long time since I last posted... But this one is a beauty(:
Paragomphus capricornis is a rather rare species in Singapore since we don't really have many sandy banks which the larvae need to emerge.
But we seem to have found a breeding spot, because we spotted both the female and the male today:

The first picture is of the female and the second of the male. The difference is the tip of the abdomen, because the male has a hook downwards while the female doesn't. You can also see the sexual organs of the male if you look at it sideways, it is approximately where the thorax ends and the abdomen begins. (:

Also spotted some other species today, and we will probably go for a trip up to Kota Tinggi for more odonata next week ^^

陈伯伯果园

Location:
陈伯伯果园
Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Libellulidae

Aethriamantis gracillis

Brachythemis contaminata

Orthetrum sabina

Potomarcha congener

Trithemis aurora

Trithemis festiva

Gomphidae

Ictinogomphus decoratus

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Coenagrionidae

Pseudagrion microcephallum

Chlorocyphidae

Rhinocypha biforata

Its the holidays again, and this June, my parents decided to bring us on a small trip to Malaysia for two days. There is a fruit farm in Kota Tinggi belonging to several Singaporean uncles whom we know, and we used to visit regularly. Since we haven't been there in a long while, we decided to go look up the uncles. There are dogs, cats and chickens in the farm (which live peacefully together).
There is a pond where the uncle, 陈伯伯, tried to plant water lilies once but failed. It is a rather muddy pond with shrimps and fishes. There are also several odonata around.
We also went to Panti Forest opposite the farm, and there are some freshwater streams there, where we saw the Rhinocypha biforata, both the female and the male. Rhinocypha biforata is also from the family that is from the same family as the Libellago species are from. We also met some people from Singapore, observing moths.

Back at the farm, there was also a dead bat... and baby cats! For pictures: odonut-yj.blogspot.com, one of the previous posts. (:
It was a really relaxing trip in all!

Green Carpet

Location:
Green Carpet
Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Libellulidae

Neurothemis fluctuans

Orthetrum chrysis

Brachydiplex chalibea

Crocothemis sevilla

Rhyothemis phyllis phyllis

Tyriobapta torrida

Rhodothemis rufa

Orchithemis pulcherima

Nanophya pygmea
Corduliidae

Epophtalmia vittigera

Gomphidae

Macrogomphus quadratus

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Coenagrionidae

Ceriagrion cerinorubellum

Pseudagrion microcephellum

Protoneuridae

Prodasineura collaris

Chlorocyphidae

Libellago hyalina

Calopterygidae

Vestalis amoena/amethystine

Euphaeidae

Euphaea impar

Platystictidae

Drepanosticta quadrata

Yesterday morning, Dad brough my brother and I to "Green Carpet". Green Carpet is a primary forest, with several freshwater streams and ponds, and some muddy patches.
It was around 9 o'clock in the morning and it was a sunny day, so we had almost perfect condition for watching odonata.

We saw a red Orchithemis pulcherima near the last pond. Orchithemis pulcherima has several different forms, other than the red form. There is one form which makes it hard to be differentiated from the Orchithemis pruinans, a black-white-black plumage.

The dark purple mature Libellago hyalina might be a rare species, but it sure is abundant around the muddy patches after the third stream. We spotted about 5 perching on twigs, and my brother and I had a fun time trying to catch them with our hands, in fact, my brother succeeded in getting one to perch on his nose. (: The immature hyalina is a bright yellow with a purple tinge at the end of its abdomen. Yesterday, however, we only saw the purple ones with some yellow markings. We also observed one with a silvery-blue tinge.

Drepanosticta quadrata is a species of damselfly thought to be endemic to Singapore till recent years when it was discovered in southern Johor, the tip of Malaysia nearest to Singapore. It had black and white stripes along its abodomen and thorax, and although it is endemic to this small area, it is quite commonly found in Singapore forests.

Nanophya pygmea is one of the smallest dragonflies on Earth. It is a delicate and fast little red (for male, yellow for female) demon whose habits include occasional territory flights. It is indeed a sight to see the small creatures with their perfectly made body parts. We were rewarded yesterday by seeing two males fight for a piece of the pond near the third stream.

The best part of the day was when we saw the 2 Macrogomphus quadratus-es. The first was perching on a twig, and after we walked on for a bit, we saw a second one (or maybe it was the same one) flying about.

We also found a species we could not identify but we believe to be Idionyx yolanea. It was a brown dragonfly with yellow hind legs and some yellow stripes on the sides of its thorax. We estimated the hind wing to be from 25 to 30 mm.

We also saw a Common Tree Nymph flying around below the canopies. It is a rather large black and white butterfly, moving about in a graceful, kinda floppy flight. We also observed some huge scarab beetles around some flowering plants.

It was a good day, with a good catch!

Venus' Mirror

Location:
Venus' Mirror

Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Libellulidae

Neurothemis flactuans (Male and Female)

Zyxomma petiolatum (Male and Female)

Brachydiplax chalybea (Male)

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Coenagrionidae

Agriocnemis femina

Onychargia rufusens

Megapodagrionidae

Podolestes orientalis

Yesterday evening, I went to Venus' Mirror with my dad, my brother, the two Mr. Tang-s, and Robin from N Parks. It was around 6:30pm, and we were there to try and catch the rare Aeshnidae that Mr. Tang Junior had seen there before.
We arrived there just as the light was getting dim. Walking in to the pond, Mr. Tang told us that it was maintained by an elderly man who sold the aquatic plants he grew there to aquariums. That was why there were planks across the surface of the pond.
When we reached the pond, many Zyxomma petiolatum were zooming across the water surface. There were some mating, but most were just catching other insects. Zyxomma petiolatum are extremely thin black dragonflies.
There were several Neurothemis flactuans also, and a solitary Brachydiplax chalybea.
Nearing dusk, we saw several huge dragonflies flying around very fast, but were unable to identify them.
We also saw an Onychargia rufusens (I'm not sure about the spelling, and I'm not sure if it was rufusens, but that's what Mr. Tang said it was). It was black with a purplish tinge across the thorax and head.
We were rewarded with a beautiful firefly with a blue light, which was the grand finale of the night before we went home. Venus' Mirror is very pretty, and its definitely worth another visit.
-actually the name (venus' mirror) is a very obvious clue-

Pots Bazaar

Location:
Pots Bazaar

Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Libellulidae

Agrionoptera sexlineata

Brachydiplax chalybea

Camacinia gigantea (uncomfirmed)

Neurothemis flactuans

Orthetrum chrysis

Orthetrum sabina

Trithemis aurora

Gomphidae

Ictinogomphus decoratus

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Coenagrionidae

Archibasis Viola

Pseudagrion microcephalum

Platystictidae

Drepanostica quadrata

Calopterygidae

Vestalis amoena/Vestalis amethystina

Chlorocyphidae

Libellago aurantiaca (uncomfirmed)

Well, we actually went out yesterday since there was sunny weather. Pots Bazaar has a forest habitat, as you might have guessed. Other than the above Odonata, we also saw some leaf beetles, stick insects, assasin bugs, tree hoppers, and others.

We saw both the female and the male of Agrionoptera sexlineata, which is a lifer for me. The female has a orange stripe in place of the brilliant red/blue stripe the male has. We saw both at the same spot, on a twig.

We also observed some red Libellulids flying circling over a branch in the water. Because it was very far from where we stood, we could not determine if it was the Neurothemis flactuans or the Camacinia gigantea. The latter has a straight cut on the coloring of its hind wings while the first has a curved cut. However, the individuals were about the same size as an Orthetrum chrysis perching nearby.
We also saw the red Libellulids chasing away several Orthetrum chrysis.

While we were walking, we met several cyclists, although cycling is not allowed in the Nature Reserves. This will damage the habitats, as we saw when the cyclists bashed through one of the streams, disturbing the fishes and swirling up the sediments of the stream bed.

Since there are exams lately, I will not post a lot as I need to spend my weekends studying!
So that's all for now, bye(:

Thousand Ponds

Location:
Thousand Ponds

Species seen:
Anisoptera--Dragonflies
Libellulidae

Acisoma panorpoides

Crocothemis servilia

Diplacodes nebulosa

Indothemis limbata

Neurothemis flactuans

Orthetrum sabina

Rhyothemis triangularis

Rhyothemis phyllis

Urothemis signata

Zygoptera--Damselflies
Coenagrionidae

Ischnura senegalensis

Pseudagrion microcephalum

Well, this morning Dad brough Yi Wei (my brother) and I to Thousand Ponds for some Insect-Bird watching.
Thosuand Ponds is just a description of the many ponds. Of course, I've never counted the ponds, but there are many shallow marshland ponds around the area.

Above is the list of Odonata I saw (:
I'm extremely happy as I've seen two lifers (new species I've never seen before in my life) for my first post! They are Diplocodes nebulosa and Indothemis limbata.

Today, I learnt how to differentiate Crocothemis servilia and Urothemis signata.
Firstly, they are both red libellulids (members of the family Libellulidae). Crocothemis servilia has a brighter tint of red than Urothemis signata. Also, should you see a black line down the abdomen, it will be C. servilia. If, however, you see two black dots at the tip of the abdomen, it will be an U. signata. Although the line is not always present on the C. servilia, and neither is the dots on U. signata, this is a good way to differentiate.
Furthermore, U. signata has a small brown patch on the part of the wing nearest to the thorax. Also, the wings have a red tinge to them absent in C. servilia.
Of course, the above only applies to males. I'm afraid I don't have the skill for Libellulid females yet.

Also, I learnt about the difference between Diplacodes nebulosa and Acisoma panorpoides. Acisoma panorpoides has a unique abdomen shape (fat then thin) that can easily let us recognize it regardless of female or male. This morning, I actually managed to get one particular female to land on my hand which enabled me to look at its shape closely! The light blue eyes of the male are also a dead-giveaway. On the otherhand the pretty blue Diplacodes nebulosa has deep brown wing tips which can be seen easily from far. Since it is a rather small species, it might look like a damselfly from far (well, at least it did for me).

Lastly for today's learning, the beautiful Indothemis limbata can be distinguished from the Trithemis festiva (which I didn't see today) by the lack of orange stripes down its back.

As we were scanning the opposite ends of the shallow marshy pond, we saw a rope which angered my brother as we thought it might be a line for hanging mist nets which bird-sellers use to catch birds to put in cages. However, we did not remove it as we weren't sure where the rope ended.

As we were walking out, it started drizzling. That might have explained the sudden lack of Odonata minutes before the rain.

I'm really glad about the visit to Thousand Ponds. It is definitely a place worth going and a morning well spent.