Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798)

Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798)
Evening Skimmer/The Coral-tailed Cloudwing
Found in Bangladesh, China, Guandong, Hong Kong, Hainan, Indonesia, India, Japan, Lao, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Viet Nam

♂43mm
body length = 43mm
hind wing = 33mm
hind wingspan = 74mm
opaque white patches beside brown patches
♀39mm

body length = 39mm
hind wing = 31mm
wingspan = 71mm
long-tongue like appendage

MALE	FEMALE
Eyes of a male Tholymis tillarga	Eyes of a female Tholymis tillarga
Thorax of a male Tholymis tillarga. Reddish eyes, yellowish red thorax.
Face of a male Tholymis tillarga
Wings are transparent; but hind wings have a golden-brown patch in the base. Matured Male has additional opaque white wing patches beside the brown patches that look like cloud hence the common name Coral-tailed Cloudwing	Tholymis tillarga female and immature male have similar wing pattern : both wings are transparent with the hind wing translucent brown near the base . This female hind wing span is 68mm Female is brown and lacks the cloudy-white patch in the hind-wings.
Unique pattern of a mature male Tholymis tillarga. A mature male Tholymis tillarga's hind wing has a amber-brown tinted patch followed by area of white pruinescence which seem to glow as they fly back and forth. Tholymis tillarga active at dusk along forest edges, the milky spots on wings are visible in twilight. However immature male lacking this white patch
	Segment 8, 9, 10 of a Tholymis tillarga female view from top. The female anal appendages is 1.5mm long.
Segment 8, 9, 10 of a male Tholymis tillarga	View from bottom. Of segment 8, 9, 10. On segment 9 is the Ovipositor (Egg-laying apparatus) with 2 interesting apparatus : A) The Vulvar Lamina under the 9th abdominal segment that supports the eggs about to be laid. An important feature for identification in some families B) A long-tongue like appendage. ( Vulvar lamina is the structure under the segment 9 that hold eggs in place during ovipositing Vulvar lamina - plate under 9th abdominal segment of female that hold eggs in place during oviposition. Female use this spout-like Vulvar lamina egg-laying device to tap eggs into the water. Each species has distinctive shape of Vulvar lamina.)
Segment 2 of a male Tholymis tillarga

Tholymis tillarga is commonly found near forest edges. During the day this species usually settles in dense vegetation. Most of the time they are seen perching on the vegetation near the ponds, hanging on to the side twigs. From late afternoon the male starts patrolling water-sites until dark.

The Twister - Tholymis tillarga is commonly found near forest edges. During the day this species usually settles in dense vegetation. Most of the time they are seen perching on the vegetation near the ponds, hanging on to the side twigs. From late afternoon the male starts patrolling water-sites until dark.

When fully matured a male Tholymis tillarga male body is reddish in colour including abdomen .Both wings are transparent with the hind wing with white and brown on the base. (Dragonfly on the left is a male)

The wings of female (dragonfly on the right) and immature male are both transparent with the hind wing translucent brown near the base.

Photo Above : Matured female Tholymis tillarga. A common dragonfly species in Sabah

Tholymis tillarga is common throughout Malaysia in sheltered places.

Male Tholymis tillarga flies at dusk.

Tholymis tillarga is another common crepuscular species in Sabah. Found in drains, lakes and weedy ponds. It commences activity about two hours before dusk. Males are quite conspicuous in the dull evening light by virtue of the bright white wing patches, which seem almost to glow as they fly back and forth. Its orange abdomen is also conspicuous. It is of medium size ( hw, 34-35 mm) and very widely distributed in the old world tropics.

Immatures male and female look similar but lacking white patch. Common in standing and slow flowing water in all types of open habitats, 0-1500 m; salt tolerant. Larva bottom dwelling, without long posterior spines and relatively slender. Adults active from 2-3 hours before sunset until dark. In the light of early dusk the whirring white patches on the wings are almost luminescent, and as the gloom deepens, are all that can be seen. Widespread in tropical Asia, Africa and Australasia. A species of the tropics and subtropics of the Old World, characterised by a crepuscular flight.

Tholymis tillarga species is common at brackish ponds and most frequently encountered during late afternoon and early morning. Female Tholymis tillarga are seen ovipositing in rain-flooded gravel road.

Insects are diverse and dominant inhabitants of the tropical rainforests in Borneo Island. New species are discovered too often. Entomologists are still struggling to cope with the documentation of tropical insect diversity.

Most of the common dragonflies in Sabah are red coloured, especially from the family Libellulidae. Some red pecies are even confused as same species, for example the three species of Genus Neurothemis.

Dragonflies and damselflies have large compound eyes that can see in all directions. When the compound eye is magnified several hundred times, each individual facet (ommatidium) is shown to be hexagonal in shape.

Female dragonflies have either one of the two method of depositing eggs from the abdomen:
1- using Ovipositor Structure
2- using Vulvar Lamina

Male do not have an ovipositor. Instead male dragonfly and damselfly have appendages.

GO FURTHER

FLORA

Fig trees of Sabah

Borneo has 150 species of wild fig trees. Most of them are found in forests of Sabah.

FISHERIES

Tiger Prawn Farms in Tawau

Prawn farming is a main commercial activities in Tawau. Spawners from Tawau are graded the best in Malaysia. For decades, Tawau has been exporting high-grade tiger prawns to several countries such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Egypt and Australia.