Dragonflies & damselflies of Thailand: Copera

61. Copera vittata vittata (Selys, 1863)

No: 61 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Copera

Name: Copera v. vittata / Variable Featherlegs

Habitat: Heavily forested trickles and streams (uplands & lowlands)

Province(s): Widespread
In flight: March-November / Sightings (by me): Locally common

Easily confused with: Copera chantaburii

The fourth and final species of the Copera genus found in Thailand, is Copera vittata vittata. It is commonly found along rivers and canal ways. The only problem is trying to get good photos of it, as it tends to perch virtually on the ground. I am still trying to get better photos of the female. They are extremely skittish and love extremely dark areas, making photography extremely difficult.

The male

The male is fairly easy to recognise, because of its red legs and yellow and black markings to the thorax and the caudal appendages are quite large for this genus.

The 'Teneral' Male

These are very young males, often known as 'ghost form' specimens. Pretty cool, right?

The female

The female is really difficult to spot, as it likes very dark areas and hangs closely to the floor. It took me many trips to even spot one and this is the best photo I have so far. I will post a better one when I manage to locate another female.

The 'Teneral' Female

This is a 'ghost form' of a female (basically young).

The copula

You can find this species throughout the country. But you have to have a keen eye to spot them, especially the females. So, now you can see ALL species of Copera on my blog!

60. Copera marginipes (Rambur, 1842)

No: 60 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Copera

Name: Copera marginipes / Yellow Featherlegs

Habitat: Ponds and Lakes to Forested Streams (Uplands & Lowlands)

Province(s): Widespread
In flight: February-December / Sightings (by me): Very common

Easily confused with: N/A

A very common damselfly that I have seen in many places and on numerous occasions is that of Copera marginipes, the third species of the Copera genus I have added to the blog. It is quite easy to find at many bodies of water. It is has plenty of shaded vegetation, you have a very good chance of finding it.

The male

The male is easy to spot with its bright yellow legs and end segments that are white. Its caudal appendages are also large.

Not quite fully mature ...

The 'Young' Male

Another common sight is that of the teneral male, also known as the "ghost" phase. It has all the hallmarks of the male, but is almost white in colour.

The mature female

The female is almost identical to that of the mature male, though I don't see the female all that often at this stage.

The 'mid-stage' female

This stage of female is more difficult to spot as it is very dull in colour. You have to look quite hard to find it. Here you can see it blends in perfectly with the background.

The 'Teneral' Female

As with the male, the teneral female also has a "ghost" form. At certain times of the year, you can spot many of these 'floating around' in the undergrowth, disturbed as you pass them by.

Love is in the air...

This copula, or "wheel" as it is also known, displays the perfect love symbol... the heart.

The Tandem

Oviposition ...

Often seen, but difficult to photograph, especially as they oviposit really low down at the edges of slow-moving streams/ponds

You can see this species all year round at many places, such as ponds, lakes and other weedy areas. They are quite shy but you should be able to photograph them if you are cautious enough.

59. Copera chantaburii (Asahina, 1984)

No: 59 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Copera

Name: Copera chantaburii / Chantaburi Featherlegs

Habitat: Lowland Tree-lined Muddy Ditches and Pools of Water

Province(s): Khon Kaen, Chantaburi
In flight: October-December / Sightings (by me): Locally common

Easily confused with: Copera vittata

A few years ago, I decided to chance my arm and looked under a bridge that was underneath a major highway, in Khon Kaen. Just outside the bridge, there was marshland, which I think is the overflow from the River Chi. In the marshland there were two common species of Copera: C. marginipes and C. ciliata. Then a third Copera species then caught my eye. I followed it as it went right under the bridge. Underneath, it was gloomy and had a small puddle. I managed to get a photo of it and I thought it was C. vitta vitta. A while later, Noppadon Makbun informed me that I had incorrectly identified the species and that it was in fact Copera chantaburii. Apparently I was only the second to identify this species outside Chantaburi, which pleased me no end. It is, however, close to Copera marginipes. There are a number of differences to identify it though. Since that day, I have been back a number of times and taken better photos and also spotted the species in a number of other places around Khon Kaen, and I also spotted it in Chantaburi of all places ;)

The male

The male is very similar to the male C. marginipes, but the easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the caudal appandages, which have very little white on them compared to that of C. marginipes. Also, the markings on the thorax are different and overall it is a little smaller. It also likes to be in very dark areas.

An unfortunate ending for this one ...

The Female

The female is extremely difficult to spot as it hangs around in the darkest of areas, in this instance resting on a dark stick, over black mud, under a darkened tunnel... how nice of it to make photography impossible! Also the female itself is also very dark in colour and I only could see the female's dark grey end segments and white rings on the abdomen.