148: Protosticta trilobata Fraser, 1933

Number: 148 / Family: Platystictidae / Genus: Protosticta

Species:  Protosticta trilobata / Three-lobed Reedtail*

Habitat: Darkened areas in forested streams and trickles

Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi, Narathiwat, Tak

Sightings (by me): Uncommon

In flight (that I have seen): August-October

*As there is no common name for this species, I decided upon 'three-lobed' as that is the translation of trilobata from Latin and 'reedtail' as it is the general name given to genus Protosticta.

An amazingly difficult and arduous trip to Kanachanburi only yielded a few new species. In fact, there were very few species of any description full stop. Primarily, as it was raining heavily throughout the trip and many areas were completely inaccessible (some areas were totally blocked). After 4 hours of searching at Erawan waterfall, amongst the millions of Speedo-wearing tourists, I was about to give up. Then, my girlfriend, Beau, noticed a small damselfly deep in the bushes directly below level 5. It turned out to be a female Protosticta grandis - a species I had spotted briefly before, but only a teneral male. Searching deeper in the bushes, I noticed another male and then several more. Amongst them, I saw a single male of another species. It had an extremely long and slim abdomen. I could hardly see it and it took me an age to get any decent photos in almost pitch dark. Not only was it dark, they were resting on twigs just above rotting leaves. They were almost impossible to see. I saw 2 males and 3-4 females within a very small area. 

I returned home and did a little research on the Internet. I'm confident its Protosticta trilabata (P. curiosa at the time of writing), named by me as the Three-lobed Reedtail as a common name. Since then, I have seen this species in small numbers along the west of Thailand from Chiang Mai down to Narathiwat, though only spotted in very low numbers each time.

The male

It is instantly recognisable for its extremely long and slim abdomen - how can they fly with wings so short? It eyes are more of a jade colour too, whereas other similar species they are more of a blue colour. Since then, I have also spotted a male in Tak province and managed to get improved photos.

The Female

Females look similar to the males but have a much shorter abdomen.

In the hand

Here's a female I managed to catch with my fingers. Unfortunately, it was that dark, I couldn't hardly see when focussing, even with the pilot light on my ring flash. Though not a great photo (blurred to buggery), it shows more accurate colours (especially in the eyes).

Here is a male I picked up with my fingers and then it played dead... this was perfectly alive and flew away shortly after. A defence mechanism?

If you want to see this species, you will have to search really carefully - even then it may elude you.