230: Orthetrum schneideri Förster, 1903

       Number: 230 / Family: Libellulidae / Genus: Orthetrum

Species: Orthetrum schneideri  / Schneider's Skimmer

Province(s) sighted: Yala

Habitat: Small pond in forested area

In flight: August / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum

One species I really wanted to see but it seemed to elude both Noppadon Makun and I, eventually showed at a small pond once he had already given up on it. Better still, at this tiny pond, we also saw. Orthetrum triangulare malaccensis and Indaeschna grubaueri. I was over the moon to find three new species for my records and one small place! Small forested ponds were hard to find here, but if you found one they were often full of ode treasures! In the end, we saw 4-5 males of Orthetrum schneideri, also known as Schneider's Skimmer and I did get a fleeting glimpse of the female, which just looked uniform yellow-brown but it was spooked by attacks from the males. In the end, I got a couple of good photos that I was happy with as it was an incredibly skittish species! 

The Male

Though very similar to O pruinosum, location is key to separating these easily. If you see a species like this in the bottom three provinces of Thailand, then it should be this species. All other provinces are the common species found everywhere else. The other way to split the two is the distinct neat change from powder blue on the abdomen to pastel red.

This male was perching over the dark swampy pond.