222: Indaeschna grubaueri (Förster, 1904)

 Number: 222 / Family: Aeschindae / Genus: Indaeschna
Species: Indaeschna grubaueri / Junglehawker
Habitat: Lowland forested streams
Province(s) sighted: Yala
In flight: August / Sightings (by me): 2 males
Species easily confused with: All Indaeschna species

One species I had desperately hoped to see as I had already seen two of the three species in the genus was Indaeschna grubaueri, commonly known as the Junglehawker. We had already been in the deep south for well over a week, starting in Narathiwat and then moving to Yala and I didn't get sight of it (though we could have spotted one earlier but was too hard to tell what it was). Fortunately, as we were driving along a small road from a stream, we saw a large dragonfly whiz from one tree to the next over a small pond. Here, I finally saw him and a second one! I was over the moon but it was quite high up and it took a long time to get decent shots. I am very happy with them in the end and could spend quite some time on it as Noppadon had already seen it before. It is known from the west of Thailand and down the peninsula, though I am not sure how common it is. Sadly, I only saw the male, but females are always much harder to find. 

The Male

Very similar to others in the genus, this guy is truly a beast with his amazing bright green stripes. I was so, so happy to see him and the species likes to perch on branches over ponds and possibly slow-moving streams.

Same male, slightly different angle