43. Prodasineura doisuthepensis (Hoess, 2007)

No: 43 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Prodasineura

Name: Prodasineura doisuthepensis / Doi Suthep's Threadtail / แมลงปอเข็มท้องเข็มดอยสุเทพ

Habitat: Forested streams
Province(s): Chiang Mai, Chaiyaphum, Petchabun
In flight: March-May / Sightings (by me): Locally common

Easily confused with: Prodasineura coerulescens, Prodasineura collaris

The fourth species of the genus Prodasineura I have now added to my blog is Prodasineura doisuthepensis. I initially thought this was P. collaris, until my mistake was pointed out to me by Noppadon Makbun (who else?!) When I visited Chiang Mai in March 2010, this species was abundant high up in the national parks, especially (you guessed it) Doi Suthep. I recently saw many specimens residing at the stream which runs through Nam Nao NP ... I was really happy to see this species here. Since then, I have seen this species quite a lot, especially around Chaiyaphum and Petchabun.

The Male

The male is easily distinguished by its bold blue marks to the thorax and abdomen. They like to sit in the sunshine over streams.

The Female

The female is much more boring in comparison and is similar to other females of the Prodasineura genus. It does have slightly blueish hues to the thorax and eyes.

Ovipositing ...

Though not the best photos in the world (it was dark, really low down and at an almost impossible angle - how I wish I'd had my Canon 60D then!), but they show how this species oviposits. 

These shots were from Nam Nao NP ...