246: Euphaea sp.

  Number: 246 / Family: Euphaeidae / Genus: Euphaea

Species: Euphaea sp. / -

Province(s) sighted: Ubon Ratchathani

Habitat: Forested Streams 

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

Species easily confused with: Euphaea masoni

Back around late 2021, early 2022, a small number of dragonfly hunters from the Facebook group, Dragonflies of Thailand, had noticed an odd-looking Euphaea sp. popping up at a river that runs through Phu Chong Na Yoi National Park, Ubon Ratchathani right on the border of Thailand. Upon investigation, some were even saying that it was possibly E. decorata. So... me being me and very excited, I had to go and have a look in April that year. I went with my brother and on the first day, we checked in to our cool little rooms and I even saw a Sandstone Gecko, which was beautiful. Anyway, straight down to the main river and, being 11am, it was perfect timing. So, I searched... and searched... and searched. There were none. By then, it was incredibly hot so I decided to look under cover that stretched over boulders and parts of the river. And there they were, several of them. Superficially looking like E. masoni, but the black on the wings is minimal. Moreover, I saw about 20-30 individuals over a couple of days that looked identical. Even when we moved to a local further up the road (different water system), I found a few more. Now, it could possibly be a different population or it could be a subspecies. Better still, it could be a species yet to be described. So, for now, it has to remain Euphaea sp.

The Male

You can clearly see the difference straightaway. There is little black on the wings and in some cases (see below), almost none existent. However, that aside, it looks identical to E. masoni. I couldn't collect any as there were several other people there at all times and I was in a national park.

Another specimen, open winged. Look how little black there is.

Another specimen with slightly more black and a coppery hue, which is (I think) indicative of E. masoni.

The Female

Here is a close-up of a female. There were a couple in the area but mostly high up in the deeper shade. This was the only one that was close enough to me... but I could only get her face haha.