I saw this little fellow up in the third floor of our apartment as I was getting my laundry, one afternoon last month, just before it was about to rain. Not having seen any of these creatures since the early 2000s, I dashed downstairs to grab my phone in the hopes of snapping a few pictures, if it hadn't flown away by the time I got back.
Much to my delight, the little fellow was still there, but perched on another part of the metal grill that is the base of my sister's old bed.
Wanting a close-up shot, I approached it slowly so as not to frighten it, and got as close to about a foot away. But as I raised my phone to aim, my movement spooked it and away it flew, circled the area a few times, and then landed on one of the potted plants nearby.
As I moved closer to take a shot it flew off again and landed on the wall. Then it took off again and decided to perch again on the bed base, near to where it had been when I first saw it.
The rumbling sound of thunder in the distance reminded me of why I was up there. And not wanting to spook it again, I decided to position myself about two feet away and just use the zoom of my camera.
Luckily, this time the little fellow decided to stay put long enough for me to snap a few shots. Satisfied with what I got, I got up and retrieved my laundry. It started raining after I got in.
A few days ago, while I was up there again to get my laundry, I saw another dragonfly and it was red, unlike the one in this blog. Then I remembered that my phone was being charged, so I just let it pass and hoped that I'd get lucky again the next time I come up here.
I caught a lot of these when I was a boy, and I'm sure many of you did too. But here in the Philippines, kids can get pretty cruel with these creatures, doing all kinds of stuff to them that would make PETA howl with maniacal rage about animal cruelty.
Anyway, this specimen, known scientifically as, Diplacodes trivialis, or more commonly known as chalky percher, or ground skimmer is common throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, parts of the Middle East, then in India, China, and Japan down to New Guinea and Australia.
This species is also known for its pruinescence in their adult stage.
Pruinescence means having a frosted or dusty-looking coating on its skin, caused by wax particles covering the underlying coloration.
The young of this species start out without it, often colored greenish-yellow with olive abdomen and thorax with black marks, and white markings on the base and tips of wings.
In young adult specimens the thorax and abdomen are covered with fine blue pruinescence.
In very old individuals their whole body changes color, with the blue pruinescence covering it entirely and obscuring all the original spots and stripes of its body and tail.
And here is a zoomed-in close-up of it. This is the same picture as the one above, but cropped for closer viewing in its full size 100% goodness.
I wish I had taken a lot more pictures of it to share here. And I must always remind myself now to make sure I always have my phone with me whenever I go upstairs.
Maybe next time I'll be luckier and snap pictures of our other visitors, the feathered ones, I mean.
And that's a wrap, folks. I hope I get to see this little guy again up there, as well as all the other creatures that like to drop by for visit. See you again in my next blog.
