Dragonflies of Borneo

Common dragonflies in Borneo Island
(Information of Dragonflies of Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan)

A small dragonfly eat mosquitoes every day. While the larger dragonflies eat small insects like moth, butterflies, flies and sometimes each other.

Dragonflies are not venomous and they kill and eat by ripping and tearing apart their prey usually head first.
From their hunting habits we can separate dragonflies into :
1-Hawkers
2-Darters

Hawkers are often seen continuously flying in circles. They scan the area, attack, eat in flight and re attack.
Darters can be seen resting on a twig or leaf and darts out every now and then to attack a prey flying by and then return to the twig.

Orthetrum sabina

Ovipositor or Vulvar lamina
of Female Dragonflies and Damselflies

The females of all damselﬂies and some dragonﬂies (Aeshnidae and Petaluridae families ) have a fully formed ovipositor, which is a complicated structure containing paired valves and cutting blades, on the underside of abdominal segments 8 and 9. The ovipositor is used to insert eggs into plant tissue, mud, or other substrate.
Some species have a stylus, which is a thin, needle like projection, at the end of each of the two valves of the ovipositor.
Vulvar lamina with a conspicuous “V” incision

HOW TO DISTINGUISH MALE AND FEMALE ODONATA
(DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES)
Males and females can be distinguished as follows:
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3- Males have a bump containing the accessory genitalia under the second abdominal segment; females lack this.

2- Male dragonflies have 3 appendages at the abdomen tip, male damselflies have 4; females of both have only 2 such appendages.

1- Females typically have a broader abdomen than males, and female damselflies and darners (Aeshnidae) have a prominent ovipositor under segments 8 and 9.

DRAGONFLY		DAMSELFLY
Type 1 Female	Type 2 Female	ALL Female damselflies have a ovipositor
NOT ALL female dragonflies have a ovipositor. These female have a Vulvar lamina instead	ONE family (Aeshnidae) of dragonflies have a ovipositor
Dragonfly Vulvar lamina	Dragonfly Ovipositor structure	Damselfly Ovipositor structure

The females of all damselﬂies and some dragonﬂies (Aeshnidae and Petaluridae families ) have a fully formed ovipositor on the underside of abdominal segments 8 and 9.
Ovipositor is a complicated structure used to insert eggs into plant tissue, mud, or other substrate.
Ovipositor structure containing :
1- Paired valves
2- Basel cutting blades, .
3- Paired stylus, which is a thin, needle like projection, at the end of each of the two valves of the ovipositor.
4- Some species (Gynacantha basiguttata) have sharp anal claws at segment 10. That perhaps serves as anchor to stabilize the abdomen while the basal plate is cutting hole and inserting eggs into plant.
Female dragonfly that do not have Ovipositor Structure will have a Vulvar lamina with a conspicuous “V” incision

Damselflies of Borneo