Nam Nao: A Year in the Making (December)

Location 1: Helicopter Pad Lake, Nam Nao National Park, Petchabun. 

Date: Saturday,  15th December, 2012.
Weather: Misty,  cold and wet - then fairly hot

Expectations of recording additional species (for my list): Less than zero

Leech bites: 4 

In the penultimate month of my project, you could have been forgiven for thinking that you were in the UK. It was cold, wet, misty and freezing ... like a typical summer in England! For two hours I searched for odonates, hoping to spot one full of early morning dew. I didn't spot one and I wonder where they were. Probably high up in the trees, keeping off the wet saturated ground. Still, even though the place was void of odonates, there were a few photo opportunities to be had.

No dragonflies anywhere for a couple of hours, but I saw some nice photo opportunities:

Eventually, the sun appeared and so, too, did the odonates. It was still rather quiet, but as the sun got stronger, the more common species appeared in decent numbers. The only addition was a solitary male Ischnura aurora, which have returned following a lengthy absence (though he was off before I'd got my camera ready).  Agriocnemis pygmea had also returned in their droves, but I didn't spot a single Ceriagrion sp. Other than that, it was common species (for the lake) all the way.

Unfortunately for some, those beautiful webs spelled the end of the road ...

You wait two hours for a dragonfly and then 4 come at once ... I've never spotted 4 species on one stick before

A. tillyardi, close up ... you've got to love the blues and purples. According to Noppadon Makbun, it's one of only a few species in Thailand that have a violet colour.

A. borneense, female (as I will group all of them for now), very scarce at Nam Nao this year.

A. nana, female still going strong - even at this time of year.

Argiocnemis rubescens rubeola, a very old female ... she was almost white.

I now know for sure that it's B. farinosa with 8 antenodal crossveins (thanks Noppadon/Oleg).

Neurothemis intermedia, male - now very common (but I still haven't spotted a mature male here)

Neurothemis tullia tullia, young male - there were so many very young, brownish coloured males 

Pseudagrion r. rubriceps, female - the males are now back in high numbers

Nam Nao Helicopter Pad (added species from the last visit, bold; new species for the lake, blue; species not seen from last visit, red)

Fam. Coenagrionidae

Aciagrion tillyardi ♂  [extremely common]

Aciagrion borneense ♀♂ [uncommon]

Aciagrion pallidum

Agriocnemis femina femina ♂ ♀ [common]

Agriocnemis nana ♀♂ [ fairly common]

Agriocnemis pygmea ♂ ♀ [extremely common]

Argiocnemis rubescens rubeola ♂♀ [fairly common]

Ceriagrion indochinense

Ischnura aurora ♂ [1]

Ischnura senegalensis ♂ ♀ [uncommon]

Onychargia atrocyana ♂ ♀ [uncommon]

Pseudagrion microcephalum

Pseudagrion australasiae

Pseudagrion rubriceps rubriceps ♂ ♀ [ very common]

Fam. Platycnemididae

Copera ciliata ♂ ♀ [extremely common]

Copera marginipes ♂♀ [common]

Fam. Protoneuridae

Prodasineura autumnalis ♂ ♀ [very common]

Fam. Gomphidae

Ictinogomphus decoratus

Fam. Libellulidae

Acisoma panorpoides panorpoides ♂ ♀ [very common]
Brachydiplax farinosa ♂ ♀ [♂ very common]

Brachythemis contaminata ♂ ♀ [very common]

Crocothemis servilia ♂ ♀ [fairly common]

Diplacodes nebulosa ♂ ♀ [very common]

Diplacodes trivialis ♂ ♀ [common]

Indothemis carnatica

Indothemis limbata (Selys, 1891) ♂ [♂ extremely common]

Neurothemis intermedia atalanta ♂ [very common]

Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum ♂ [fairly common]

Neurothemis tullia tullia ♂ ♀ [extremely common]

Orthetrum glaucum

Orthetrum sabina sabina ♂♀ [very common]

Rhodothemis rufa

Tholymis tillarga 

Trithemis aurora ♂ ♀ [extremely common]

Trithemis pallidinervis

 Location 2: Tiny natural pond, 1 kms from entrance to Nam Nao National Park HQ, Petchabun. 

Date: Saturday, 15th November, 2012.
Weather: hot and bright sunshine

Expectations of recording additional species (for my list): Zero

Leech bites: 0

As I approached my second location (the stream at the headquarters), I was greeted by around 15 coaches and 6-7 cars all trying to get into the park. I knew that it would be quiet at the stream by now and with the addition of about 10 million people arriving en masse, I decided to give the place a wide birth. I carried on past the entrance, looking for a place to turn. There was a small exit which led to a locked gate. Amazingly, there was a tiny, natural pond next to it. I got out of the car and instantly noticed a male Tramea transmarina, constantly gliding over the water. Every time the sun went behind a cloud, he would fly high into the treetops. When the sun came out again, he would resume constant flying above the water. I tried to catch him with my net, but he was way too quick for me. Diplacodes trivialis was also present, as was a solitary Potamarcha congener. Two male Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum constantly harassed the Tramea transmarina. Then I noticed a large number of teneral damselflies a one edge of the pond. As I approached they all moved away quickly and I didn't get close to any of them. In any case, they were almost clear in colour and I would not have been able to ID them. I will return there next month and hopefully spot a few adults. They were large in size and could have been Lestes elatus (there was a solitary male there). However, they didn't seem to fit the bill. Finally, I spotted a male Aciagrion borneense. I managed to capture him and take a few photos. It was a pleasant surprise to find the pond and added 2 new species for the area with Tramea transmarina and Potamarcha congener.

The solitary male Lestes elatus

Quick checklist of species sighted (good prospect for next flight season): 

Aciagrion borneense ♂ [1]

Lestes elatus ♂ [1]

Diplacodes trivialis ♂ [4]

Potamarcha congener ♂ [1]

Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum ♂ [2]

Tramea transmarina ♂ [1]

 Location 3: Small stream, 1 kms from entrance to Nam Nao National Park, Petchabun (Chumpae entrance). 

Date: Saturday, 15th November, 2012.
Weather: hot and bright sunshine

Expectations of recording additional species (for my list): Zero

Leech bites: 0

On way way home I decided to stop at one of the streams which run along the base of Nam Nao NP. It was a little bit tricky to get down to, but it was well worth it. There weren't that many specimens there, but there were a number of species ... and I hope it will be a good place to look at next year. Most were common species, but I did spot a male Rhinagrion viridatum. He only landed momentarily, but it was enough for a positive visual ID. I only managed to get some decent photos of Copera marginipes, which were still abundant. 

I only got photos of C. marginipes as a copula, but some are quite interesting:

Quick checklist of species sighted (good prospect for next flight season - it looks perfect with lots of trees and rocks): 

Neurobasis chinensis  ♀ [1]

Pseudagrion rubriceps rubriceps  ♂ [1]

Heliocypha biforata  ♂ [1]

Euphaea masoni  ♂ ♀ [very common]

Euphaea ochracea  ♂ [1]

Rhinagrion viridatum  ♂ [1]

Copera marginipes  ♂ ♀ [very common]

Prodasineura autumnalis  ♂ ♀ [very common]

Next trip: January

155. Aethriamanta gracilis (Brauer, 1878)

Number: 155

Family: Libellulidae

Genus:  Aethriamanta

Species:  Aethriamanta gracilis

Common name(s): Blue Lucida

Synonyms: N/A

Habitat: Uplands, exposed ponds

Province(s) sighted: Nam Nao National Park and environs (Petchabun); Phu Pha Man NP (Khon Kaen province)

Sightings (by me): Rare (though possibly mistaken for similar species)

In flight (that I have seen): June

Species easily confused with: Brachydiplax farinosa; Brachydiplax sobrina; Brachydiplax chalybea; Aethriamanta aethra

Thanks to Noppadon Makbun's expertise and knowledge, I have been able to add a new species to my list. This time in the shape of Aethriamanta gracilis. The species is easily confused with Brachydiplax farinosa and Brachydiplax sobrina. However, Noppadon's keen eye said that it is in fact a new species for me as it has 6 antenodal crossveins. Aethriamanta aethra also has 6 antenodal crossveins. However, A. aethra is a deeper blue, the black thoracic markings are more prominent and the colouration to the base of the hind wings is much darker (almost black) and prominent. This species is also slightly smaller than Brachydiplax and it's abdomen seems stouter, yet this is difficult to spot in the field. 

The male

Very similar to Brachydiplax chalybea, but much smaller and similar to its cousin, A. aethra, but a much brighter powder blue and slightly smaller. I have seen the species now at two different locations, but both similar environments (exposed marshy pond areas). I think this species is more common than believed. However, it is easily overlooked as it resides alongside more common species ... for me size (or lack of it) is key to IDing this species in the field.

This species has 6 antenodal crossveins

The female

I am now pretty confident that this is also the female. I have always thought that it looked different and now - thanks to Noppadon's input - I can see that it, too, has 6 antenodal veins (can clearly be seen as part of the copula below). So I am hoping that this is also Aethriamanta gracilis. You can also see that she is clearly carrying eggs, which are a beautiful colour.

Once again, many many thanks to Noppadon for the ID and the information.