Dragonflies spotted at Maliau Basin

From BiodivBorneo09

Dragonflies at Maliau Basin

by Mindy

As a side interest, Fae and I took photographs of almost all the dragonflies we spotted during our project study at Maliau Basin. We had many questions unanswered about dragonflies, which included where they went when it rained and when it was night time, how long their lifespan as an adult dragonfly was (references pointed us to a range of one day to several months), and how many dragonflies were sexually dimorphic. We only spotted several species mating during our stint, and any sexual dimorphism and other information we know of is stated. *depicts the dragonflies we observed for our study.

Red Wing Belly*	Description : Easily the most abundant dragonfly around and easily persuaded to fly. Mainly a percher. Their abdunance and territoriality also mean that when one is disturbed and flies into another's territory, it sets off a cascade and flurry of activity and dragonflies of all types start flying around.
Red Belly*	Description : Fast flier. Perching and flying periods can be long, depending on activity. Usually chases other Red Bellies for long periods of time, but sometimes also chases Red Wing Bellies and Pink Bellies. Seems to be the most aggressive (uncertain). Sexually dimorphic.
White Blue Belly*	Description : Active flier, can be seen chasing the Blue Half Wing and Dark Blue Half Wings, sometimes chasing Clubtails even. Does not seem to interact with the other dragonfly types. Sexually dimorphic.
Blue Half Wing*	Description : Active flier, usually chases the White Blue Bellies and also Clubtails if it is in the vicinity. Seems to be sexually dimorphic with the Dark Blue Half Wing being the other.
Dark Blue Half Wing	Description : Active flier, seems to be sexually dimorphic with the Blue Half Wing being the other.
Blue Red Belly	Description : Seldom seen. Not much is known as we only have one specimen from one day.
Black Tail	Description : Seldom seen. Not much is known as we only have one specimen from one day.
Orange Wing	Description : Seldom seen. Not much is known as we only have one specimen from one day.
Grey belly	Description : Seldom seen. Not much is known as we only have one specimen from one day.
Clubtail*	Description : Visibly larger than the rest of the dragonflies, would appear to dominate the scene except that it does not seem to mind sharing its perch with other dragonflies, and only aggressively intercepts when another clubtail is in sight. The Pink Belly and Red Belly dragonflies also chase it when it flies past them. Does not hover much, but is a wide spaced flier and perches the rest of the time.
Blue Eyes	Description : Much smaller compared to the rest. Visits the water body occasionally, but does not interact much with the rest of the dragonflies.
Yellow Belly	Description : Visits the water body occasionally, but does not interact much with the rest of the dragonflies.
Pink Belly*	Description : Fast flier, seems to be sexually dimorphic with the other being a deep orange/brown colour. Flies when mating. Short periods of perching is followed by long periods of flying/hovering. Sexually dimorphic.