Genus Tetrathemis

Tetrathemis irregularis It is common and widespread in lowland swamp forest and sluggish forest streams, particularly in more disturbed areas, but is quite local. It is found at altitudes up to 500 m. Males guard tiny pools and remain perched on station for most of the day.

Tetrathemis flavescens is rarer, and may be distinguished by an extensive basal yellow suffusion best developed in the hind wing. Risiophlebia dohrni is of similar appearance and size but can be recognized at a glance by its enormously expanded second abdominal segment, which in the male bears the secondary sexual apparatus. However even in the female the second segment is strongly swollen and distinguishable at a glance from Tetrathemis. It is a common but local inhabitant of peat swamp and alluvial forest, hovering over tiny ponds in shafts of sunlight penetrating the canopy.

Both Tetrathemis and Risiophlebia are placed in the subfamily Tetrathemistinae because the forewing discoidal triangle is in fact a well defined quadrilateral. However this is not very evident in Risiophlebia and the condition occurs to some extent in many other genera in other subfamilies. Also in this group is the scarce Hylaeothemis dementia, another small black and yellow species. It inhabits alluvial swamps in the lowlands.

The 3 families of dragonflies found in Borneo Island:

1 Family of Aeshnidae

Insects are diverse and dominant inhabitants of the tropical rainforests in Borneo Island. New species are discovered too often. Entomologists are still struggling to cope with the documentation of tropical insect diversity.

Most of the common dragonflies in Sabah are red coloured, especially from the family Libellulidae. Some red pecies are even confused as same species, for example the three species of Genus Neurothemis.

Dragonflies and damselflies have large compound eyes that can see in all directions. When the compound eye is magnified several hundred times, each individual facet (ommatidium) is shown to be hexagonal in shape.

Female dragonflies have either one of the two method of depositing eggs from the abdomen:
1- using Ovipositor Structure
2- using Vulvar Lamina

Male do not have an ovipositor. Instead male dragonfly and damselfly have appendages.

GO FURTHER

FLORA

Fig trees of Sabah

Borneo has 150 species of wild fig trees. Most of them are found in forests of Sabah.

FISHERIES

Tiger Prawn Farms in Tawau

Prawn farming is a main commercial activities in Tawau. Spawners from Tawau are graded the best in Malaysia. For decades, Tawau has been exporting high-grade tiger prawns to several countries such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Egypt and Australia.