140: Phyllothemis eltoni (Fraser, 1935)

Number: 140 / Family: Libellulidae / Genus: Phyllothemis

Species:  Phyllothemis eltoni / N/A

Habitat: Small Forested Streams/Ponds

Province(s) sighted: Petchabun
Sightings (by me): Rare
In flight (that I have seen): July

A few weeks back, I saw T. irregularis for the first time in Khao Yai. That meant I had photographed both species in the genus... except male T. hyalina. Then at the same pond as the two previous posts (144/145), I saw, what I didn't think was male, T. hyalina simply because of the colour / markings. However, there are many differences with this specimen that don't seem to match either species. As it turns out, I was correct that it wasn't T. hyalina... however, it isn't even that genus. It is, in fact, a rare specimen indeed... Phyllothemis eltoni, though there is a small chance it could be a different species entirely. 

The Male

The male is black with blueish markings on both the thorax and the abdomen. The wings are hyaline, stigma black. The markings on both the abdomen and the thorax are very distinct as are those blue eyes. A very handsome male.

Many thanks to Noppadon Makbun for the ID.

139: Nepogomphus walli (Fraser, 1924)

Number: 139 / Family: Gomphidae / Genus: Nepogomphus

Species: Nepogomphus walli

Common name(s): N/A

Habitat: Exposed but tree-lined streams

Province(s) sighted: Petchabun, Chiang Mai, Nan, Narathiwat
In flight: July-August / Sightings (by me): Uncommon

Just as I was cursing that last dragonfly flying away, another new species landed right in front of me on the tall reeds.

Again... one shot, it was off, high up into the trees. Still, at least this shot is pretty good and should be good enough for ID.

Finally, this has now been looked identified as Nepogomphus walli, through the expert eyes of Noppadon Makbun and Tom Kompier. With thanks. Since then I have seen this species on several occasions throughout Thailand

The Male

Can be easily identified through its rather gruesome yellow and black appendages and unique markings, especially the large yellow streak towards the end of the abdomen.

The 'Teneral' Male

This male was spotted early one morning at the main river that runs through Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, in Narathiwat, August 2025.

The Female

The female is similar to the male and often found close by.

138: Idionyx selysi (Fraser, 1926)

Number: 138 / Family: Synthemistidae / Genus:  Idionyx 

Species: Idionyx selysi / N/A
Habitat: Forested Ponds and Streams
Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai, Petchabun
In flight: July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: All Idionyx Species

A week had gone by and I returned to the ponds around Nam Nao town. I arrived early to the place I finished at last time, which was 1 kms from the town centre. This time, however, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Heavy rain the night before, strong winds, heavily overcast, dull and more rain on the way. Worse still, there wasn't a single dragonfly on the water. Last week, there were hundreds. I worked my way through the weeds/marsh and still couldn't find any. I moved on. 

I drove past the town and continued around 4 kms north. I saw a small, but natural pond, surrounded by lots and lots of reeds and bamboo... maybe some will be resting there! It was difficult to get down the steep banking and I slipped a million times. As soon as I got near the bamboo, I noticed a skittish dragonfly, flapping away on a tiny reed, deep under the cover of the bamboo. I set up my camera and, in the windiest conditions in the world, tried my luck, using flash. It was blurred! Worse still, the flash scared the dragonfly and it flew upwards, in a 'bouncy' flight, similar to that of T. pallidinervis. The wind caught it and carried it away. Aaaargh! Gone for good. This photo is the only one I have and it isn't very good. 

This species has now been identified by Noppadon Makbun. He said it is 'likely' to be Idionyx selysi. It has a process pointing upwards on S10, which you can clearly see (unless you are me and didn't see it).

The Male

As you can clearly see (sort of from this terrible photo), there is a protrusion on S10

The Female

I was fortunate to see a number of Idionyx species flying around rapidly when in Chiang Mai with Noppadon Makbun in 2024. Though it was impossible to get any photos, Noppadon did manage to catch a female... and it was really tough to get one!

Many thanks to Noppadon for the ID (even from that terrible photo).

137: Anax indicus (Lieftinck, 1942)

Number: 137 / Family: Aeschnidae / Genus: Anax

Species:  Anax indicus / Elephant emperor

Habitat: Forested Ponds

Province(s) sighted: Chaiyaphum, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Loei, Petchabun

In flight: July - August / Sightings (by me): Uncommon

Species easily confused with: All Anax Species

At the same pond (Road 2216, 8 kms south of Nam Nao town) that I saw I. carnatica, I saw a large dragonfly move rapidly along the margins. When it came close to me, I knew it was genus Anax, but it was moving too quickly to determine which species. I continued photographing and observing other species present and then I saw it again. This time, every time it appeared, lots of males from other species would attack it and it seemed to then disappear for good. Finally, just before I was ready to move on, the female of the same species appeared and rapidly flew from edge to edge of the pond ovipositing as it went (I have seen photos of the female lowering herself down a stem to oviposit). This female seemed to skim her caudal appendages along the surface of the water - unless she was cleaning off after ovipositing???. This was a more green/brown coloured female, with the same yellow/black abdomen as the male. To my surprise, when the female appeared near me, the male arrived and hovered almost motionless above her. I quickly got out my camera (I had just packed away), and hoped that they would come round again as this seemed to be the pattern. Eventually, the female appeared again and I was armed with my camera. I actually managed to get a few pretty good shots considering my camera equipment's limitations. The female, however, was just far too quick to photograph (I just kept getting photos of water).

When I returned home, I saw that there are five species in the Anax genus, known in Thailand. I already have good photos of A. immaculifrons, so it was a toss up between A. guttatus, A. indicus, A. nigrofasciatus and A. panybeus. 


This species has now been identified by Oleg Kosterin as Anax indicus, and is a new provincial record! Since then, I have seen this species at several locations but is always in low numbers.

The Male...

The male is simply beautiful. Obviously, I only saw the male in flight, but I still think the photos are good enough for ID. For its size it was a very quiet flyer. The most noticeable thing was the blue dorsal patch on S1-2, which really stands out when it is in flight. 

Male in hand, caught with my net at Phu Phan National Park, Kalasin.

And upon release... one shot (wrong angle so missed his wings) ... and ... gone! Still happy to see one so close up!

Many, many thanks to Oleg Kosterin for the ID and information regarding identification of the species. Also, thanks to Noppadon Makbun for his comments.

136: Indothemis carnatica (Fabricius, 1798)

Number: 136 / Family: Libellulidae / Genus: Indothemis

Species:  Indothemis carnatica / Light-tipped Demon
Habitat: Exposed Upland Ponds and Lakes
Province(s) sighted: Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Petchabun, Loei, Udon Thani

In flight: July-November / Sightings (by me): Uncommon

Species easily confused with: Indothemis limbata limbata

Yesterday (23/07), I visited a number of locations en route to Nam Nao town centre, along road 2216. I decided to visit this area, as it is all uplands. Firstly, I visited a waterfall that looked like dragonfly paradise. It turned out to be N. chinensis heaven, as that was pretty much all that was there, though there were hundreds of them.

I then decided to travel along the road and stop at any waterway that looked good. 8 kms south of Nam Nao town, there was a small farmer's pond.  Here, I instantly noticed a small blue dragonfly that could have easily been mistaken for D. trivialis. However, when I reached the pond, I noticed that there were a number of them and it was definitely genus Indothemis (I had seen I. limbata earlier in the season). Upon closer inspection, I realised it was most certainly a new species for me. When I returned home I discovered that there are only two species in the genus, so it must be Indothemis carnatica and searching on the Internet showed my ID to be correct.

Since I first saw this species, commonly known as the Restless Demon, I have now seen it at Nam Nao NP, Phu Ruea NP and a small pond 70 kms east of Udon Thani - EVEN a tiny man-made pond outside Animal Hospital in Khon Kaen University.

The Male

Similar to I. limbata, but different in a number of ways. Both thorax and abdomen are uniform royal blue (I. limbata is black thorax/royal blue abdomen). I. carnatica has a black frons (face), where I. limbata is blue. Also, the main thing for me, is at the base of the wings. I. limbata has a fairly large patch of black basally, whereas I. carnatica is very small in comparison.

Another male...

The only time I have caught it in flight!

A 'Young' Male

Here is a male, which, at this stage looks very much like the female ...

The Female...

The female is far less common than the male and I have spotted only very few females. The mature female is similar to that of the male, except it is more robust. They are a dull brown/yellow colour.

I initially thought that this was A. aethra, as it looks very similar. Though the markings are different, I just thought it was an old female.

The 'Young' Female

The female is most commonly seen at this stage. Similar to the one above but far more fresher and more yellow. It tends to brown as it ages.

Here she is in her natural position... very similar to that of the genus Aethriamanta.

Now in the hand, it gives a good idea of size etc.

Note: the small spot on the labrum (upper lip)

Teneral female

The teneral female is almost identical to that of the teneral male ...

The Copula

One other thing I found interesting about this species. They were abundant at 1 farmer's pond. At all the other ponds I visited (some less than half a kilometre away) there were none, even tough it was the same altitude and same kind of pond/environment. Yet I saw I. limbata present at other ponds, but not the one where I. carnatica was present. Maybe they cannot co-habit... I'm not sure. 


Now I know... yes, they DO co-habit. Noppadon has informed me that he saw both species at Nam Nao Helicopter Pad lake! Thanks for the info, Noppadon.

135: Burmagomphus divaricatus (Lieftinck, 1964)

Number: 135 / Family: Gomphidae / Genus: Burmagomphus

Species: Burmagomphus divaricatus / Sprayed Clubtail
Habitat: Exposed Sandy Forested Streams
Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai, Petchabun, Pitsanoluk, Nakhorn Ratchasima, Udon Thani
Sightings (by me): Uncommon
In flight (that I have seen): April-August 

Species can be confused with: All Burmagomphus species

Back in 2011, another species I first ever saw at an open river in Khao Yai National Park, was a Burmagomphus species, I initially ID'd this species as B. williamsoni (Yes, I was clueless back then). However, Oleg Kosterin has since correctly IDd the species as Burmagomphus divaricatus, also known as the Sprayed Clubtail. Since then, I have seen it quite often tough it can be tricky to approach.

The male

The male is similar to many other Gomphidae. The thoracic markings are slightly different. However, its sprayed caudal appendages are what give it away.

You can see why it is called the 'sprayed' clubtail. The inferior (lower) appendages are sprayed out.

The 'Young' Male

The sub-adult male is very similar to the adult. However, it doesn't yet have the bright eyes. 

The 'Teneral' Male

I was fortunate enough to also spot a teneral male while I was at Khao Yai. I only managed a couple of photos before he retreated high up in the treetops.

Close up of the appendages.

Here's a teneral male I caught briefly ... shows just how small they are.

The Female

I have spotted a few females, but they are always almost impossible to get near. They tend to fly away at the slightest movement. Fortunately, as I wandered along the riverbank at almost 6 p.m., this one had settled down for the night. I even managed to capture her with my fingers. 

The same female before I caught it by hand (then released):

 The female's caudal appendages.

Now in the hand (for thoracic markings) ...

The Copula...

On a terrible day, with howling winds and heavy rain, I still managed to capture photos of something special. This copula is the only one I have ever seen of this genus. I saw it at an uplands river, which is exposed in Nam Nao environs. I have since spotted a second copula (terrible photos though) at Pui waterfall, Pitsanoluk environs.

Many, many thanks to Oleg Kosterin for the ID and generous information provided on the genus. Also, to Noppadon Makbun for confirming the second female I saw at Nam Nao.