Monday, January 5, 2009

Libellulidae - Tholymis tillarga

Libellulidae - Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798)

One day late afternoon around 4pm many years ago (I just started to learn dragonflies) I went down to an open pond to take some pictures of dragonflies. I saw a medium size red dragonfly flying to and fro the bank of the pond. It was so active, and there was no indication it would stop and perch on twigs. Even though it flied continuously, I did notice that there were two whitish things on its wings. Immediately, I knew that this red dragonfly was definitely different from the common red dragonfly species I had come across so far. Yes, it was Tholymis tillarga. Tholymis tillarga is known to be active a few hours before dusk. During midday, however, it will hang itself vertically and inactively under the leaf at shady habitats. This is the best time to take some good shots of this guy.