Rhyothemis phyllis (Yellow-striped Flutterer)

The taxonomists are at it again. When I first encountered this delightful dragonfly it was simply classified as Rhyothemis phyllis, a species in its own right. However, it has now been reclassified as a subspecies of Rhyothemis variegata, thus Rhyothemis variegata phyllis, although that seems to be a bit debatable in some circles. Whilst iNaturalist jumps on such changes pretty much immediately, I’m hanging on for a while for the dust to settle, even though I may just be imagining the dust.

Seeing this colourfully winged character, for the first time was quite a thrill. It seems to me that there is a greater tendency towards coloured wings in warmer regions than I am used to in the European arena. This looks as though it is trying to mimic a bee. It is colloquially called a Yellow-barred Flutterer in the Singapore theatre but Yellow-striped Flutterer by our Australian friends.

Our earlier few encounters in Singapore were a little frustrating with a lack of settling and posing but eventually, both Cambodia and Singapore’s Central Catchment NR came up with the goods. I have now added a few shots of Australian natives from my 2019 Queensland trip. I saw them again on FNQ 2022 but didn’t get any publishable pictures.

male

in cop