pied paddy skimmer

The pied paddy skimmers, with their white-banded black coloured wings, are one of my favorite dragonflies. They bring back all the nostalgic childhood days, as I remember them from the time since when I was a kid – when I used to play out in the fields.

pied paddy skimmer, neurothemis tullia on a water lily

The pied colors and the habitat give them the name pied paddy skimmer. It is the males which have the black colored wings as above, while the females have golden yellow wings with dark spots/tips. These paddy skimmers are often found around ponds, fields, and all kind of pools of water. Their flight is also conspicuous, undulating and floating in the air, much like a butterfly.

pied paddy skimmer on an amazon sword

Though seen throughout the year, studies show that they are most abundant during the summer monsoon – when the water supply is plentiful – and increases the survival rates of the larvae.

Species: neurothemis tullia Family: libellulidae
Common Name: Pied Paddy Skimmer
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala

Reference:
Che Salmah M., S. Hassan, A. Abu Hassan, and A. Ali, 1998: Influence of physical and chemical factors on the larval abundance of Neurothemis tullia (Drury) (Odonata: Libellulidae) in a rain fed rice field, Hydrobiologia, 389, 1, 193-202.

5 Responses

  1. Hi Roxy and Sarah,

    Yes the beach you’ve mentioned is a part of the sunderbans and is 4 hrs drive from Kolkata on the Diamond Harbour route. There are many week end destinations from Kolkata that you can visit if you plan on coming here. Am compiling a list of such places and will put it up in the blog soon.

  2. I stumbled into your blog looking for embroidery patterns and found a whole world of common interests. Like yourself and Sarah, Deb my husband and I are avid birders and naturalists. While deb is into photography am into stitching and embroidery and painting….nice to know that there are many more such couples who are so alike us….i love the way you have assembled all your creative interests in one place and also managed to add a window to your personal world…..Keep up the good work…you’ve sure found a follower in me. Do visits my blog on our travels and explorations at http://abirdloversjournal.blogspot.in/.

    • rocksea says:

      Dear Jyotirmayi,

      I am happy to hear from you, to know that you and Deb are like-minded. Went through your sea shore images, and excited to see so much activity by the shore. Are they near by Kolkata? We’re yet to visit Kolkata, and if we visit, we would want to go to the coast, esp. after seeing your photographs 🙂 Between, I think the unidentified one is a sea cucumber.

      Cheers,

  3. Nikhil says:

    Hmm… Kuttikkaalavum Onavumokkey orma varunnu!

  4. Kanak says:

    I have taken a few photos of this dragonfly too. The contrasting colours are beautiful!!

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