217. Polycanthagyna ornithocephala (McLachlan, 1896)

Number: 217

Family: Aeschnidae

Species: Polycanthagyna ornithocephala

Common name: Beak-tailed Hawker

Synonyms: Aeshna ornithocephala McLachlan, 1896

Habitat: Forested pond

Provinces sighted: Nam Nao NP (Petchabun)

Sightings: Rare (solitary male)

In flight (that I have seen): October

Species easily confused with: Polycanthagyna erythromelas

I recently visited Nam Nao NP in Petchabun for the first time in over two years. However, I have kind of done the main bits to death, as too has my brother Paul (for birds). Therefore, we decided to search a little deeper and try to find a few more areas. Though limited on where to visit at the park, there were numerous ponds and ditches along the 14 kms trail to the ranger station I hadn't visited before (I used to just drive quickly along the trail as it seemed to by dry and devoid of life all the way). Anyway, at one small pond that was part exposed to baking heat and the other part in shade, it looked like a typical pond and didn't seem to offer much. However, I suddenly noticed a large dragonfly fly out from the shaded area and into the bright sunshine where it was instantly attacked by several smaller dragonflies. Amazingly, it returned to the same shaded area and I was able to creep across the pond and get in some shots pretty easily, though I was hampered by the sun blasting through the trees making photograhpy difficult. Once I had got enough shots, I wasn't sure if it was a new species or not. It was likely to be Polycanthgyna erythromelas as I had once seen it at Phu Khieo, which is not too far away. Anyway, upon processing the photos I noticed that it had a blue head instead of green and some of the markings were slightly different, though I just put it all down to variation. Anyway, upon posting it on the Facebook dragonfly group, Noppadon Makbun thought it was actually a different species, Polycanthagyna ornithocephala, a species that had only been recorded from one location in Kanchanaburi back in 2000. Noppadon's suspicion was confirmed by Wen-Chi Yeh. So, amazingly, it turns out to be a rather rare and special species indeed! I hope to return soon and search for the female as it looks so cool!

The male

They don't come much more stunning than this. 

 Slightly nicer shot from a different angle as I could eliminate the annoying sun.

The appendages

Rather interesting appendages, I think.

Many thanks to Noppadon Makbun for correcting my initial ID and Wen-Chi Yeh for the confirmation.

183. Gynacantha basiguttata Selys, 1882

Number: 183    

Family:  Aeschnidae 

Genus: Gynacantha     

Species: Gynacantha basiguttata

Common name(s):  Spoon-tailed Duskhawker   

Synonyms: N/A    

Habitat: Forested pond (temporary)  

Province(s) sighted: Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary (Chaiyaphum)  

Sightings (by me): Rare 

In flight (that I have seen): July   

Species easily confused with: Gynacantha saltatrix; Gynacantha bayadera; 

There are definitely several species of Gynacantha that reside in Phu Khieo WS, but they are incredibly difficult to locate. That's why I was really happy to spot three species in one day, one of which is a new species for my records in the shape of Gynacantha basiguttata. It is a large species that I spooked out of his hiding place which was deep inside tall reeds overhanging a temporary pool. Unfortunately, he flew fairly high up into a tree and didn't hang around for long. For now, this record shot will have do. Incidentally, the other two species I saw were G. subinterrupta (a first for me here) and G. saltatrix (another first for the place). According to the records, G. bayadera is also present and Noppadon Makbun believes G. phaeomeria to be there also. Seeing all five species there would be amazing. Hopefully one day, especially if I keep trawling the little swampy ponds all the time.

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...

180. Polycanthagyna erythromelas (McLachlan, 1896)

Number: 180    

Family: Aeschnidae    

Genus: Polycanthagyna    

Species: Polycanthagyna erythromelas 

Common name(s): Tiger Hawker   

Synonyms: N/A    

Habitat: Lowland forest stream  

Province(s) sighted: Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary (Chaiyaphum)  

Sightings (by me): Rare 

In flight (that I have seen): November    

Species easily confused with: -

Another trip to Phu Khieo, but at completely the wrong time of year. November. Not really a time to expect to find new species. However, with lots of butterflies zipping around, I had half and eye on finding the elusive Libellago hyalina (a late-season species), which has evaded my camera since I started searching for it there a year ago. There was one report of it being recorded there, though this was quite a while ago and it may not even be there now, or is certainly very rare at least.  Searching the river at the lower reaches of Phu Khieo, I was happily snapping away at a few butterflies, as well as the odd ode. I was really happy to spot a Mortonagrion aborense copula for the first time and was amazed to finally scratch that seven-year itch in the shape of Thrithemis festiva, female. The males are super common, but until now I only had a fleeting glance of a female ovipositing (no chance of a photo). I continued searching and searching, but to no avail. Suddenly, from deep within the bushes I disturbed a large dragonfly which flew straight past me. I was gutted. I knew it was something special, but thought I had missed the chance. Amazingly, it returned and flew back under cover. I crept along on all fours desperately trying not to disturb it. Camera at the ready and my bag was snagged on a twig. I moved. The twig moved. The dragonfly moved ... it was off again. Aaarrrggghhh! Yet, within 30 seconds it was back again and I was still in position. I snapped away happily and managed to get some decent shots. Later in the day, I passed where it had been and amazingly, he was now right at the edge almost in direct sunlight, though he was spooked easily. When I returned home I did a little digging and it turns out to be Polycanthagyna erythromelas, easily one of the most handsome dragonflies I have seen. So, who says it is too late in the year? Over to next weekend ....

158. Heliaeschna uninervulata (Martin, 1909)

Number: 158

Family: Aeschnidae

Genus: Heliaeschna

Species: Heliaeschna uninervulata

Common name(s): N/A

Synonyms: N/A

Habitat: Heavily tree-lined lowland ponds

Province(s) sighted: Khon Kaen environs

Sightings (by me): Rare

In flight (that I have seen): RMay-June (2013)

Species easily confused with: N/A

A quick trip to a few old haunts around Khon Kaen today yielded another new species ... and a cracking one at that. Along a fairly long canal-like pond, that was heavily tree-covered I noticed a dragonfly tucked deep into a dark alcove created by trees. I crept forward and thought at first that it was gynacantha subinterrupta, a commonly sighted species in Khon Kaen. However, as I approached gingerly, I noticed its caudal appendages were significantly different. I managed to get a few shots in before I stood on a twig and the noise was enough for it to fly deeper into the dark tree alcove ... amazingly, though, another male flew towards it and a brief battle ensued. The same male rested once more (the other fled) and I was able to get a few more photos in, though any slight movement ensured that the dragonfly moved too. I saw a few more specimens in the same area, but they were already in flight when I saw them (I scared them into flying). When I returned home, a little research on the Internet revealed that it was a male Heliaeschna uninervulata. According to Noppadon Makbun, it's an uncommon species - and I'm pretty sure that it is a provincial record.

The male.
Similar to gynacantha subinterrupta, yet has siginficantly different caudal appendages. I think it really is a stunning species and one I hope to bump into again.

Here's how I first saw him (it was very dark, obviously flash was used)

Close-up ...

Here, he had settled again

And here's another one I saw a little later on in the day

The unique caudal appendages (though from the wrong side) - look at how beautiful the shape is ... almost like leaves.

148. Gynacantha saltatrix (Martin, 1909)

Number: 148

Family: Aeschnidae

Genus: Gynacantha

Species:  Gynacantha saltatrix
Common name(s): Little Dusk Hawker
Thai name(s): แมลงปอยักษ์รีทีฐานกว้าง

Habitat: Heavily tree-lined ponds, lowlands

Province(s) sighted: Khon Kaen

Sightings (by me): Uncommon

In flight (that I have seen): July-November

I was busily teaching yesterday (03/07/12) when there was suddenly a commotion. One of my students had picked up a dead dragonfly and was scaring her friend. I looked at it from a distance and thought it was Gynacantha subinterrupta, as they are fairly common in Khon Kaen. Then I noticed the whitish section on the caudal appendages. I thought it could have been Gynacantha phaeomeria as I have seen this species once before, but in Loei province. I grabbed it from the kids before it was destroyed and then taught them about dragonflies for a while. When I looked closely I could see that it was a new species for me, even though it was headless. The claspers are much slimmer (not paddle-like) than both other Gynacantha species I have come across before. 

Since my initial ID of G. bayadera, I have been corrected by Mapor. He thinks it is Gynacantha saltatrix. And looking at www.iucnredlist.org it states about G. saltatrix: "It is a crepuscular species which frequents marshes and does not require forest." 

This would make sense as there isn't much in the way of forest in Khon Kaen city!
Since this time, I have found a new location where there seems to be a number of specimens present. 

The male

The male looks like many others in the Gynacantha genus. However, its caudal appendages differ. Also, the markings along the abdomen are slightly different to those of Gynacantha subinterrupta.

This male I managed to capture with my fingers ... good way of showing his small size.

Gynacantha saltatrix, male - close up and headless, of course!

G. saltatrix appendages

... compared to G. subinterrupta (it's rather different) ...

The female

The female is very similar to the male.

 This specimen I also saw at the same school where I work... I must find out where they originate. This female was alive AND had a head!

Female wing venation

Another younger female I saw outside my house recently.

Many, many thanks to Mapor for correcting my initial ID!

144. Gynacantha phaeomeria (Lieftinck, 1960)

Number: 144

Family: Aeschnidae

Genus:  Gynacantha 

Species:  Gynacantha phaeomeria
Common name(s): N/A
Thai name(s): N/A

Habitat: Deep in the forested area, near an uplands river.
Province(s) sighted: Song Khon Waterfall, Phu Rua environs (Loei)
Sightings (by me): Rare
In flight (that I have seen): September (though must be longer)

It was a weekend of agony and ecstasy at Phu Rua National Park and environs. Heavy rain, heavy mist, bad judgement on locations and a lot of driving, nearly put paid to my weekend trip.

After a sleepless night, I set off from Khon Kaen at 1am and arrived in Phu Rua at around 5.30 am with a few stops here and there. After a few bad choices on ponds (maybe it was too early in the morning), I tried my luck at the national park. Closed. Upon asking a man with a dog, who said "It's closed in the rainy season", I drove to another waterfall called Namtok Pla Ba, not too far away. It was part of an enormous river and the water was belting through at an unbelievable pace. The waterfall was low down and inaccessible, as too was most of the river. Back on the road. I saw a small waterfall called Song Khon Waterfall close by and chanced my arm. It was a stream. Good. It was in good forested area and I started searching. My last 3 trips proved fruitless, in terms of new species. After 6 hours of searching, this too seemed to be the same with only common species showing. I did see a female Gomphidae, but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. I searched for another specimen, but it was all in vain. Right at the exit of the trail, I noticed a large Aeschnidae move under heavy tree canopy. I edged forward and managed to get a few good photos. It turns out that it IS a new species... Gynacantha phaeomeria. A rare specimen indeed and a new provincial record (I think). So everything is good in the world, once more!

Juvenile male
This is a juvenile male, which will have more vibrant blues/greens when it matures. The most noticeable thing is the prominent white part of the caudal appendages (not sure of the the technical name for it).

Many, many thanks to Noppadon Makbun and Mapor for the ID and useful information/papers on the species. Your help is vital in my identification as I am useless!

So, all-in-all, it turned out to be a good trip. Next trip... Chayaphum, Nam Nao then Tak (hopefully). 

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.

101. Anaciaeschna jaspidea (Burmeister, 1839)

Number: 101

Family: Aeschnidae

Genus: Anaciaeschna

Species: Anaciaeschna jaspidea

Common name(s): Rusty Darner, Australasian Duskhawker

Thai name(s): N/A

Habitat: Upland lakes (this is probably inaccurate)
Province(s) sighted: Nam Nao NP (Petchabun).
Sightings (by me): Extremely rare
In flight (that I have seen): October (longer, I'm sure)

A new provincial record!!! Probably my first too. When I visited Nam Nao National Park, Petchabun, in October 2010, I made a quick visit to the helicopter pad just outside the National Park. It's a large lake and there are many great species there. Just as I was about to leave I saw a large brown dragonfly about 50 metres away from the lake in the tall grasses. I moved closer and saw the thoracic markings. A new species. I was so happy. I managed to get a few photos of it before it flew away. I sent the photos to Noppadon Makbun and he said it was a female Anaciaeschna jaspidea and he was surprised to learn that there was a specimen there... so a new provincial record. 


The female

The female is large and predominately brown in colour on both the thorax and the abdomen. However, the easy way to identify this species, is the yellow thoracic stripes, which are highly prominent, as well as the markings along the abdomen. The end segments are white/brown and the caudal appendages are large and black.