Rhinagrion elopurae

Zygoptera
Species Name: Rhinagrion elopurae
Family: Megapodagrionidae

Members of the genus Rhinagrion are curious looking and brightly coloured damselflies of which 2 are endemic to Borneo (that means, they are found nowhere else). They live in shaded forest streams and are unusual in that unlike most damselflies, they rest with their wings open like a dragonfly. They also have very small wings on a body that’s thicker than most damselflies.

The species featured on this post is Rhinagrion elopurae which I’ve photographed on vegetation on the side of forested streams in Tabin Wildlife Reserve and at the Madai Waterfall in Lahad Datu. It has a dark coloured body with lime-green markings that form a triangular shape on the top of its thorax and a dark red abdomen tipped with a bright blue flash.

I have not seen a female yet but it is said that she’s similarly coloured as the male but lacks the blue flash at the end of her “tail”.