Perithemis is a genus of dragonflies commonly known as Amberwings.
They are characterized by their small size and the amber wings of the male.
Photos: Jakarta, Indonesia [20140611]
Source: Wikipedia
Category Archives: Dragonfly & Damselfly
Pachydiplax longipennis: Blue Dasher Dragonfly
The Blue Dasher [Pachydiplax longipennis] is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. It is common and widely distributed in the United States.
Mature males develop a bluish-white pruinescence on the back of the abdomen and, in western individuals, on the thorax. They display this pruinescence to other males as a threat while defending territories at the edge of the water.
Although the species name longipennis means “long wings”, the wings are not particularly long. Females do, however, have a short abdomen that makes the wings look longer in comparison.
Photo: Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia, USA [20130913]
Source: Wikipedia
Hypna clytemnestra: Silver-studded Leafwing butterfly
Hypna clytemnestra, common name Marbled Leafwing or Silver-studded Leafwing, is a species of Neotropical butterflies belonging to the Nymphalidae family, Charaxinae subfamily.
Hypna clytemnestra is the largest member of Anaeini. This “leaf butterfly” is quite uncommon. Hypna clytemnestra can be found from Mexico to the Amazon Basin.
Photo: Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, Callaway Gardens, GA. [20120808, 20130901]
Source: Wikipedia
Heliconius hecale: Golden Helicon butterfly
The Tiger Longwing [Heliconius hecale] or Golden Helicon is a Heliconiid butterfly that occurs from Mexico to the Peruvian Amazon. Hecale was a priestess of Zeus in Athens.
Photo: Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, Callaway Gardens, GA. [20120808]
Source: Wikipedia, Tree of Life web project.
Heliconius ismenius telchinia: Tiger-stripped Long-wing butterfly
The Ismenius Tiger or Tiger Heliconian [Heliconius ismenius] is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family found in Central America and northern South America. They are highly populous as south as Ecuador and Venezuela and as north as southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.
The Heliconius ismenius are more commonly called the tiger-striped long wing butterfly, derived from its long butterfly wing structure as well as the beautiful burnt orange and black stripes, which resemble the stripes of a tiger coat.
Butterfly shown in photos is subspecies Heliconius ismenius telchinia.
Photos: Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, Callaway Gardens, GA. [20120808]
Source: Wikipedia
Cethosia biblis: Red Lacewing butterfly
Cethosia biblis is medium-sized butterfly, with a wingspan reaching about 8–9 centimetres [3.1–3.5 in].
^ Male speciment.
In this species the sexes are dimorphic. In males the dorsal sides of the wings are bright orange-red, framed by a black outline with white spots. The undersides range from bright red to pale brown, interlaced by black and white. This astonishing pattern helps to disguise the shape of the butterfly, while the intense color of the dorsal sides of the wings is a warning to predators that the Red Lacewing has a bad taste, deriving from the poisonous host plants of the caterpillars.
^ Female speciment.
The dorsal sides of the wings of the females are grayish-brownish with black spots and white bands and spots on the black margins.
Photos: Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, Callaway Gardens, GA. [20120808]
Source: Wikipedia
Orthetrum chrysis: Brown-backed Red Marsh Hawk
Orthetrum chrysis common names include Spine-tufted Skimmer, Red-faced Skimmer. It is a medium sized dragonfly with brown black thorax and bright red abdomen.
AdmPark, Singapore 20120423
Orthetrum caledonicum: Blue Skimmer dragonfly
The Blue Skimmer Dragonflies are medium in size with body length 45mm. When they are at rest, the dragonflies held out theirs wings horizontally, sometime they hold their wings below their body.
AdmPark, Singapore 20120423
The Dragonfly Life Cycle
This photo shown a fully grown nymph with 9 segments abdoment [right] and a younger nymph [left].
Location: ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore [20120309]
A dragonfly could have a life span of more than a year, but very little of that life is actually as an adult dragonfly. There are three stages of the dragonfly life cycle, the egg, the nymph, and the adult dragonfly. Most of the life cycle of a dragonfly is lived out in the nymph stage [up to 4 years] and we don’t see them at all, as this happen underwater in a marsh or pond.
The Egg Stage
A male and a female dragonfly will mate while they are flying in the air. After two dragonflies mate, the female dragonfly will lay her eggs on a plant in the water or just drop them into the water.
The Nymph Stage
Once the dragonfly eggs hatch, the life cycle of a dragonfly larva begins as a nymph. A nymph looks like a little alien creature. It looks like a crusty hump hanging onto its back. Dragonfly nymphs live in the water while they grow and develop. This portion of the dragonfly life cycle can take up to four years to complete. In temperate regions if the nymph cycle is completed in the beginning of the wintertime it will remain in the water until spring when it is warm enough to come out. Dragonfly nymphs live in ponds or marshy areas, in calm water.
The Adult Dragonfly Stage
Once the nymph is fully grown it will complete the metamorphosis into a dragonfly by crawling out of the water up the stem of a plant.
The nymph will shed its skin onto the stem of the plant and will then be a young dragonfly.
Once the dragonfly leaves the exuvia it is a full grown dragonfly. The dragonfly will hunt for food and begin to look for a mate. Once the dragonfly finds a mate, the female will find a calm body of water, a good place to lay her eggs, and the life cycle of the dragonfly begins all over again. Adult dragonflies only live about 2-6 months. They may live longer in dry and warm weather.
Source:
http://www.dragonfly-site.com/dragonfly-life-cycle.html
Trithemis arteriosa: Redveined Dropwing dragonfly
Dragonflies of the genus Trithemis are from the subfamily Trithemistinae or commonly called Dropwings. There are more than 50 Trithemis species worldwide, and they are essentially African but five have made it to Asia.
Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital, Singapaore 20120403.
Zoomed macro photo at dusk. I like its fuchsia tail, I should say, abdomen 🙂
Dragonflies have two pairs of elongated membranous wings with a strong crossvein and many small veins that criss-cross in the wings, adding strength and flexibility to the wings. Dragonflies’ rear wings have a broader base and are larger than the front pair. Dragonflies do not have hinges enabling them to fold their wings together when resting.
photoplusbyritasim 