photo.moments: August 2013

Friday, August 23, 2013

Dragonflies Around Us (Part - 2)

Rainy season is the best time to watch dragonflies as there activity will be more during that period. Its very interesting to observe their behavior such as courtship, egg laying, territory defending etc. In our campus the pond is the best place to watch their activities. Around 15 species of dragonflies can be easily spotted here in rainy season.

In this part I have listed 9 dragonfly species. Remaining species will be covered in next part.

13. Common Clubtail (Ictinogomphus rapax)
A large dragonfly mostly found at the edges of the pond. Only males are spotted till now. Has the habit of chasing other dragonflies from its perching site.

Male

14. Common Hooktail (Paragomphus lineatus)

Male

A medium to large sized dragonfly. Only once I have seen this in the campus. Has the habit of perching upside down during hot weather.

Female

15. Greater Blue Wing (Rhyothemis plutonia)

A medium sized blue dragonfly. Very attractive and beautiful. Commonly found perched near pond. Sometimes can be seen flying in other parts also.

16. Lesser Blue Wing (Rhyothemis triangularis)
A medium sized dragonfly with blue markings at wing base. Found around the pond.

17. Littel Blue Marsh Hawk (Brachydiplax sobrina)

Male

This is one of the most abundant dragonfly near the pond in rainy season. It is a small dragonfly. Male mostly found around the pond. Females seen in very less number but can be seen away from the pond.

Female

18. Long-Legged Marsh Glider (Trithemis pallidinervis)

A medium sized dragonfly with long legs. Seen near the pond, playground and other grasslands. Has the habit of perching at the tip of the perch and holding wings upwards.

19. Scarlet Marsh Hawk (Aethriamanta brevipennis)
A small dragonfly. Found near the pond. Always perches very near to the water. Difficult to approach very near to it. Only spotted male till now.

Male

20. Coral-Tailed Cloud Wing (Tholymis tillarga)

Male

A medium sized dragonfly. Found near the pond, very rarely perches. Both male and female can be seen on their wings all the time near the pond circling from one end to another. Only once seen a male perched away from the water.

Male(above) and Female(below) in flight

21. Blue-Tailed Yellow Skimmer (Palpopleura sexmaculata)

Male - side view

A small dragonfly. Found in marshy places. I spotted this one at the play ground in the campus.

Male - Upper view

Gear used to photograph: Nikon D90, Nikkor 55-300mm, Nikkor 70-300mm VR

Thank you for viewing.

Regards,

Ganesh Hegde

My photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ganesh_hegde/ and https://www.facebook.com/Ganesh.Hegde.Photography

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Dragonflies Around Us (Part - 1)

Dragonflies are one of the fascinating insects around us. They belong to order Odonata in insect classification and in India more than 500 species are found (both Dragonflies and Damselflies). They are primarily aquatic insects and their life is closely linked with specific aquatic habitats. They undergo 4 life stages, which are egg, larvae, pupae and adult stage.

Our campus at Burnihat, Assam is placed in a valley having small mountain line on both sides. Basically its a marshy land which remain waterlogged in rainy season. There is a pond inside the campus which is surrounded by marshy grass lands. Even our play ground becomes meadows in rainy season. This gives a very suitable place for Odonates to complete their life cycle as they prefer marshy conditions. This place is blessed with high diversity of Odonates. It is an attempt to photograph, identify and document them. In this first part 12 species are being covered. And in next parts I will try to cover rest which I able to document here.

1. Fulvous Forest Skimmer (Neurothemis fulvia)

Male

It is a medium sized, most common dragonfly found in the campus which are available at almost everywhere, near and away from the water. In the campus many times they can be seen gregariously.

Female

2. Ground Skimmer (Diplacodes trivialis)

Male

A small dragonfly which remains close to the ground. Generally they can be seen along the roadsides. In our campus they are common along roadsides, playground and meadows.

Female

3. Pied Paddy Skimmer (Neurothemis tullia)

Male

A medium sized dragonfly, can be seen beside pond, grassland and roadsides. Usually perches on low grass or herbs.

Female

4. Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk (Orthetrum pruinosum)

A medium sized dragonfly. Males are found everywhere and easily spotted.

Male

5. Emarald-Flanked Marsh Hawk (Brachydiplax farinosa)

Male

A medium sized dragonfly. Males generally found near pond and other aquatic places.Females can be seen away from water along roadsides and grasslands. Very high density of these individuals can be seen near pond in rainy season.

Female

Mating Pair

6. Rufous-Backed Marsh Hawk (Brachydiplax chalybea)

Male

Medium sized dragonflies. Males mostly stay very near to the water perching on the vegetation. In the campus around the pond they can be seen in large number in rainy season. Females can be seen away from water.

Female

7. Ruddy Marsh Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia)

Male

A medium sized dragonfly, males found near pond and sometimes on exposed perches away from water. Females can be found near and more away from water.

Female

8. Ditch Jewel (Brachythemis contaminata)

Male

Small dragonflies known to found near polluted water. In the campus it is mainly found around the pond. Both male and female stay near to the water.

Female

9.Common Picture Wing (Rhyothemis variegata)

Male

Medium sized, colorful dragonfly found near the pond and also can be found sailing in the air like a butterfly in most part of the campus.

Female

10. Trumpet Tail (Acisoma panorpoides)

Male

Small dragonfly with bulged abdomen (hence the name). Always remain near to the water. In the campus many individuals can be seen perched beside pond.