181. Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839)

Number: 181  
Family: Aeschnidae    
Genus: Anax    
Species: Anax guttatus 
Common name(s): Pale-Spotted Emperor   
Synonyms: N/A    
Habitat: Mid-upland small pond 
Province(s) sighted: Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary (Chaiyaphum)  
Sightings (by me): Common (though photographing them is another story) 
In flight (that I have seen): May-October    
Species easily confused with: Anax indicus; Anax parthenope julius; Anax panybeus

I was stood in the middle of a shallow pond, bitten to death by horse flies, mosquitoes and leeches. It was an overcast area of the small pond with light fading fast. Suddenly, a large Anax sp. appeared from nowhere and started whizzing around the little pond desperately in search of a mate. This was my chance to add another Anax species to my list. However, it had to be the worst place to do it - it was too dull and enclosed. Worse still, a second male appeared and a million aerial battles ensued. However, I noticed that at one end of the pond, the wind would whistle through causing this big guy to stop momentarily. I edged around to the other side of the pond and set myself up. Basically, I sat in the pond with leeches digging into my arse. Still, I was going to get it this time. As I waited and waited, then I noticed a Lestes sp. to my right. I know that L. dorothea also lives somewhere at PK and turned towards it to see. It was L. elatus (I think). As I turned back Anax guttatus was right there in front of me, hovering as I had predicted. Perfect. As I lifted my camera, the wind dropped and it was off.... aaaarrrrggghhh! Missed it again. And this time it seemed to disappear. I was about to stand up and pull the leeches off my body when it swooped back down to the edge of the other side of the pond. I waited again and the wind picked up. He stopped, though a little further out. But I got my shots in and I am extremely happy with them. I know you can get better shots of dragons in flight, but I don't care. I know how hard I worked to get these ... and I finally did it! I managed to capture a rare photo of a very common species. Well, it's actually not that common where I live, though I do see it now and then, and it isn't rarely photographed, though I always find it impossible. Now I just need to find it in better lighting. Until the next time...

139. Anax indicus (Lieftinck, 1942)

Number: 139

Family: Aeschnidae

Genus:  Anax

Species:  Anax indicus
Common name(s): Elephant emperor

Thai name(s): แมลงปอยักษ์เขียวอินเดีย

Habitat: Exposed uplands farmer's ponds 
Province(s) sighted: Nam Nao environs (Petchabun).
Sightings (by me): Rare
In flight (that I have seen): July (though must be longer)

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!

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. 



Note: it almost seems to fold in its caudal appendages during flight. These photos are uncropped, using a 300 mm Sigma lens.

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

47. Anax aurantiacus Makbun, Wongkamhaeng & Keetapithchayakul, 2022

No: 47 / Family: Aeschidae / Genus: Anax

Name: Anax aurantiacus / Orange Emperor / แมลงปอยักษ์เขียวท้องส้ม

Habitat: Forested streams, uplands and lowlands
Province(s): Chiang Mai, Loei
In flight: March-October / Sightings (by me): Rare

Easily confused with: N/A  

When I visited Chiang Mai from March-April 2010, I spent a few afternoons at a nice, but very busy waterfall, called Huay Gairo (spelling?), on the way to Doi Suthep. While there I noticed one or two large dragonflies patrolling the area but never wanting to land... ever! Just up from the waterfall was another tiny stream not even a half-metre wide. There were a number of common damselflies there, but not much else. Until I saw one of those patrolling dragonflies resting! It was some distance away and I had to move with caution through the stream to get closer. And off it went... missed it. I began looking for other species again, and noticed, to my amazement, it had returned to the very same spot. This time I was already close and managed to fire off a number of photos to get it. And there it was... a new dragonfly species for me: Anax aurantiacus. 

The male

I managed to capture photos of this magnificent dragonfly. The male is large in size with green and black stripes to the thorax and an amazing orange abdomen. Its caudal appendages are also large. It was resting in the shade from the hot afternoon sun under a large leaf in the reeds. I was burning to death in the sun, but I didn't care. 

The female

I was lucky to spot the female in flight (though briefly) when I visited Phu Rua NP, Loei province. I saw two males combating with other species. Suddenly, this female appeared from nowhere in front of me hovered for a few seconds above the stream and disappeared just as quickly as she appeared. Still, great to see a female at last!

Here's a couple of images that are OK... one with flash and one without. I think it can be confidently ID'd from these photos (and a male was close by).

This really is a truly magnificent creature.