Monday 31 December 2012

Dragonflies of Malaysia 10 - Revisit

I showed a stamp depicting Trithemis festiva (see stamp image below) a few years ago. You may click here to view the post entry.



Actually, in Malaysia Trithemis festiva and Indothemis limbata are very close to each other (see the two photos below). It is quite difficult for laymen to tell them apart. However, there are a few characteristics to identify them. Trithemis festiva has orange colour strips on dorsal of its abdomen (not so in Indothemis limbata). On the other hand, Indothemis limbata has dark wing tips (not so in Trithemis festiva). So, the dark wing tips and abdominal orange strips are normally used to identify these two species in the field.


Trithemis festiva


Indothemis limbata


Having said that, now we are back to the Trithemis festiva stamp (see the stamp image above). Do you notice the orange colour strips on the abdomen of the dragonfly? Yes, it has the orange strips, and this is a characteristic of Trithemis festiva. Wait a minute, do you also notice the dark wing tips of the dragonfly? Yes, it has dark wing tips, and this is a characteristic of Indothemis limbata. I am really confused now.........