An Odonata Holiday in Taman Negara Pahang

The last time I had my Odonata holiday in Taman Negara (Kuala Koh, Kelantan) was in April 2005. Time flies, and it has been more than 10 years for me to have my second Odonata holiday in Taman Negara (Pahang). I must thank Jabatan PERHILITAN for the cordial invitation. This time we entered Taman Negara from Kuala Tahan, Pahang. From Kuala Tahan to Kuala Kelapor (the camp site), we could still observe everywhere the scars and wounds from the destructive big flood which happened in the late December 2014.

We started our journey at Kuala Tahan in the early morning on 14 April 2015. We were on 4-wheel drives for 3 hours before arriving at a drop off point at Kuala Sat. Then, we took long boats on Sg Sat heading to Kuala Kelapor. The whole boat journey was only roughly 1 hour, but we had to get off boats at a few spots of low water level to push the boats.

The team is getting ready to set off to the camp site in Taman Negara

Finally we arrived safely at the camp site at Kuala Kelapor in the early afternoon without much trouble. The camp site was located by Sg Sat. Therefore, our water supply (drinking, bathing, and even our toilet) was from Sg Sat. One thing I enjoyed much was to soak myself in the water of Sg Sat in the hot afternoon.

the camp site at Kuala Kelapor

Sg Sat - our main source of water supply

Sg Kelapor is a sluggish and slow flowing stream, and it is good for many Odonata species

It was flowering season for a few plant species during our visit there, particularly Saraca thaipingensis. The presence of the flowers definitely made the forest looking good.

Gardenia carinata

Saraca thaipingensis

One of the unexpected things that I encountered during the stay at Kuala Kelapor was the witness of the delivery of a new born baby bat (Kerivoula papilosa). It was so sweet to see the whole process of delivery.

A female bat (Kerivoula papilaso) just delivered a baby bat

My Odonata holiday went well, and I managed to record at least 50 species of Odonata during my stay at Kuala Kelapor. We departed from Kuala Kelapor on 22 April 2015........

Libellago semiopaca (male)

Archibasis rebeccae (male)

Onychothemis testacea (male)

Lathrecista asiatica (male)

Rhinagrion viridatum (female)

Rhinagrion microcephalum (egg-laying female)

Rhinagrion elopurae (male)

Podolestes harrisoni

Podolestes harrisoni

Rhinagrion macrocephalum

Rhinagrion macrocephalum is definitely a beautiful damselfly species.

Larva of Podolestes orientalis

A larva of Podolestes orientalis........

Podolestes orientalis - In Wheel

I spotted a mating pair of Podolestes orientalis.

Female of Podolestes orientalis

Finally, I have got a decent photo of female Podolestes orientalis.... You may view the male Podolestes orientalis here.

Rhinagrion elopurae

Rhinagrion elopurae is truely an elegant damselfly from Borneo......

a male Rhinagrion elopurae
a female Rhinagrion elopurae

Larva of Podolestes orientalis

The paper of the description of Podolestes orientalis larva has finally been out. Please let me know if you need the soft copy of the paper.

Choong, C.Y. and Orr, A.G. 2010. The larva of Podolestes orientalis from West Malaysia, with notes on its habitat and biology (Odonata: Megapogrionidae). International Journal of Odonatology 13(1): 109-117.

The abstract of the above article is as below:
The larva of the south-east Asian megapodagrionid, Podolestes orientalis, is described and figured. Specimens were collected from shallow forest pools lined with large dead leaves in secondary lowland forest. Final and earlier stadium larvae were found concentrated around the edges of pools in very shallow water. Larvae sometimes perched in exposed situations, just below the water surface, with abdomen upturned and caudal lamellae splayed outward to expose the broad respiratory surfaces. This represents the first account of the immature stages for this south-east Asian genus. The caudal lamellae are very broad and flattened, inserted horizontally, suggesting a close relationship between the genus Podolestes and Australian region megapodagrionids.


So, how does the larva of P. orientalis look like? Here you go......




Below are two photos taken in situ at the natural habitat of P. orientalis larva.


So, how does the natural aquatic habitat look like for the larva of P. orientalis? The below photo shows the aquatic habitat from where I found the larvae of P. orientalis. The larvae concentrated at the shallow water edge covered with fallen leaves and sticks......

Larva of Podolestes orientalis

I found Podolestes orientalis larvae in Bangi Forest Reserve some time in February 2009. I was really thrilled when I first spotted P. orientalis larva at the natural habitat....... The larva of Podolestes has never been described, and many researchers/odonatologists have been looking for it but yielded fruitless results. I had to breed the larvae at home to confirm the correct identity.

Anyway, the description of Podolestes orientalis will be published in International Journal of Odonatology. The article will be out in the first issue of year 2010. Once the article is officially out, I shall post here some photographs of the P. orientalis larva.


Choong, C.Y. and Orr, A.G. 2010. The larva of Podolestes orientalis from West Malaysia, with notes on its habitat and biology (Odonata: Megapogrionidae). International Journal of Odonatology. In press.

Megapodagrionidae - Podolestes buwaldai

My latest encounter on Podolestes buwaldai makes me feel a sense of acheivement because I finally have photographed all the species of Megapodagrionidae of Peninsular Malaysia. There are four species of Megapodagrionidae in Peninsular Malaysia, namely Rhinagrion mima, R. macrocephalum, Podolestes orientalis and P. buwaldai. Between the two Podolestes species, P. buwaldai is more rare and local.


a male P. buwaldai
a female P. buwaldai

Larval Emergence - Podolestes orientalis

I am actually breeding Podolestes orientalis larvae. The larva of Podolestes has not been described yet, and I am describing it with Dr. A.G. Orr. I managed to capture the larval emergence of P. orientalis with my camera.......

Preying

I spotted a male Podolestes orientalis preying on a male Copera vitatta. The P. orientalis really enjoys its delicious meal..... so pitty the C. vitatta.

Megapodagrionidae - Rhinagrion macrocephalum

Megapodagrionidae - Rhinagrion macrocephalum (Selys, 1862)

Rhinagrion macrocephalum is another beautiful damselfly species from family Megapodagrionidae. It is not easy to bump into R. macrocephalum, and I only spotted it in forest of Perak state. I like its bright blue tail and light green strips on thorax.... absolutely gorgeous. Another equally gorgeous species of the family Megapodagrionidae is Rhinagrion mima. Both macropcephalum and mima are easily distinguished by the different colour on tail.

Megapodagrionidae - Podolestes orientalis

Megapodagionidae - Podolestes orientalis Selys, 1862

Members in family Megapodagrionidae are always beautiful and elegant. Four species of Megapodagrionidae have been recorded in the Peninsular Malaysia. Podolestes orientalis is the largest in size (hw 28 mm) among the four species. It is easily recognised by its blue markings on its body. Podolestes orientalis is normally found at swampy ponds and small streamlets in the forest.

Megapodagrionidae - Rhinagrion mima

Megapodagrionidae - Rhinagrion mima (Karsch, 1891)

Rhinagrion mima is a conspicious damselfly species. It is only found in prestine low land dense forest. I spotted many R. mima deep in Royal Belum Forest Reserve. They like to pearch at vegetation overhanging river.