Pied Paddy Skimmer (Neurothemis tullia)

Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
Neurothemis tullia	Jun 20, 2026	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Dragonflies are always a great subject for macro photography. In the nature of our rural Bengal, especially around paddy fields or water bodies, a very beautiful dragonflie is seen, which is called 'Pied paddy skimmer' in English. Compared to other common grasshoppers, the strange and beautiful craftsmanship of its wings makes it stand out from everyone.

​Scientific name:
According to the scientific classification of biology, the scientific name of this wonderful dragonflie is Neurothemis tullia. In 1773, the scientist Drury was the first to give it this scientific name. Apart from this, there are several other old or synonymous names in the scientific world, such as Libellula equestris (1781) and Libellula lineata (1793).
​Family and Genus:
This dragonflie is an interesting insect of the vast Arthropoda phylum and Insecta class of the animal world. According to the classification made by scientists, they belong to the Anisoptera infraorder of the Odonata class. Their family name is Libellulidae and their genus or genus name is Neurothemis.

​Size and body structure:
There is a wide difference or sexual dimorphism between the body structure and color of the male and female dragonflies of this species. The body of the male dragonflie is mainly black in color and there is a light yellow line on the back through the middle of their chest. The first half of the male's wings is opaque and steel-like bluish-black in color and just after this there is a milky-white patch, and the very end of the wings is completely transparent or hyaline. On the other hand, the body of the female dragonflie is greenish-yellow in color and has a bright yellow line on the chest. The base of the female's wings is dark yellow, then there are dark-brown spots and there is a wide dark-brown part at the very end of the wings. Their flight speed is very weak and they usually sit in low places very close to the ground. The pictures you took show both the female and male dragonflies in a very beautiful and clear way.

​Habitat and habitat:
This dragonflie mainly lives widely in the countries of South and Southeast Asia. They are found in abundance in the nature of Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, starting from Thailand and Vietnam. They usually prefer to live around ponds, lakes, low-lying wetlands and rice fields filled with abundant plants and aquatic plants.

​Food:
Like other dragonflies in nature, they are also completely predatory insects. They usually hunt and eat small mosquitoes, flies and other small insects that fly around water bodies. Their mating pairs are responsible for controlling harmful insects in their environment.

​Reproduction:
Their entire reproduction process is carried out in water bodies. They usually breed in ponds, wetlands or rice fields filled with aquatic plants. After mating, the female dragonflie usually lays eggs on the surface of the water or on aquatic plants. The eggs hatch and nymphs or larvae emerge, which grow underwater and later molt to become beautiful full-fledged dragonflies like the one in your picture.

​Benefits:
These dragonflies play a very important role in the ecosystem of the environment. They hunt and eat a large number of mosquitoes and harmful insects every day, which helps greatly in naturally controlling insects. Especially in rice fields or agricultural lands, their presence indirectly plays a role in reducing harmful insects to crops. They are listed as 'Least Concern' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conservation list, meaning their numbers in nature are still at a good and safe level.

Harmfulness:
These dragonflies do not have any harmful effects or harm to the environment, humans or agriculture. They do not bite humans or spread any pathogens. They are completely environmentally friendly and are an integral and very beautiful part of the nature around us.

I hope you like the information.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

_{​*(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.) *}
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	Lightroom
Photography	(Neurothemis tullia)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Link to original community
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/373657023

Latitude	Longitude	Map Link
24.3360	89.1134	https://www.openstreetmap.org/?#map=12/24.3360/89.1134