231: Podolestes orientalis Selys, 1862

         Number: 231 / Family: Argiolestidae / Genus: Podolestes

Species: Podolestes orientalis/ Southeast Asian Flatwing*

Province(s) sighted: Narathiwat

Habitat: Swampy ponds, Streams

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

Species easily confused with: Podolestes coomansi  

*As there is no common name, I have used 'Southeast Asian' from the Thai name and given the genus the name 'Flatwing', creating the name 'Southeast Asian Flatwing'. This replaces the known 'Blue-spotted Flatwing' as Southeast Asian ties in with 'orientalis'.

A few days after spotting Podolestes coomasni for the first time, Noppadon Makbun and I were slowly wading through a swampy pond that was heavily shaded form trees and shallow in areas but very deep in other parts, making it somewhat treacherous to walk through. Eventually, a few more common species started to show and then a large damselfly landed right in front of me... it was Podolestes... coomansi again? The area was quite dark and the damselfly was difficult to see. Worse still, as I went to take a photo, it lifted up and flew. Fortunately, it flew right near to Noppadon who had more light and he said straight away... it's orientalis! So, Podolestes orientalis, commonly known as the Blue-spotted Flatwing, was a new addition to both our records and we were both incredibly happy! Better still, I got a decent shot of it and we managed to spot 3-4 males that morning. I also saw a female but it was far too skittish and eluded the lens. Interestingly, Podolestes coomansi was also present. 

The male

Very similar in appearance to Podolestes coomansi, the easiest way to separate the species is by looking at the markings on the thorax. They are quite different and quite easy to separate... IF you can see them in the gloom.

This was the first one I saw in the gloom...

230: Podolestes coomansi Lieftinck, 1940

         Number: 230 / Family: Argiolestidae / Genus: Podolestes

Species: Podolestes coomansi / Blue-spotted Flatwing*

Province(s) sighted: Narathiwat, Yala

Habitat: Peat Swamp Forest and Swampy ponds, Streams

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

Species easily confused with: Podolestes orientalis 

*As there is no common name, I have used 'Blue-spotted' from the Thai name (as it has blue spots along the abdomen) and given the genus the name 'Flatwing', creating the name 'Blue-spotted Flatwing'. 

While walking through natural peat swamp in Narathiwat outside of Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest searching for odes. It was initially very quiet for species and individuals were in low numbers. But one I did eventually bump into was an extremely skittish species Podolestes coomansi, commonly known as Blue-spotted Flatwing. I was incredibly happy to see it... or rather Noppadon Makbun saw it first. I managed to get a few shots away, but it was very, very difficult and would fly away at the slightest movement. Over the course of the next few days in Narathiwat and Yala, the species would pop up now and then but in very low numbers. I managed to get a good shot of the male and a record shot of the female. I saw 2-3 females but they were even more skittish than the males!

The Male

The male is uniform dull brown but punctuated with sky blue stripes and spots along the abdomen and the thorax. It really is a stunning species and was noted by Noppadon that it was more brightly coloured than the ones spotted at the peat forest in Surat Thani.

The Female

The female is very similar to the male, but has a more prominent blue patch at the end of its abdomen and is far more skittish than the male. This is the best I could get on the trip.