251: Anax nigrofasciatus nigrolineatus Fraser, 1935

   Number: 251 / Family: Aeschnidae / Genus: Anax

Species: Anax nigrofasciatus nigrolineatus / Blue-spotted Emperor

Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai

Habitat: Forested Ponds

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

Species easily confused with: All Anax Species

On a trip to Chiang Mai with Noppadon Makbun back in 2024 turned out to be a great trip. And one species that hadn't even crossed my mind made an appearance. However, at an uplands pond on a rather dull day an Anax came out to play zooming around very quickly around the edges of the pond. Noppadon pointed out quickly that it was Anax nigrofasciatus nigrolineatus as it is the only one that shows in the area. Excited, I put on the 400mm lens and did my best to get a shot but they turned out to be terrible! That said, you can tell it is that species (very pale and small spots). But I must return one day in the future to chance my arm again and maybe on a slightly sunnier day when it may stay out longer.

The Male

Very typical Anax appearance but has small pale spots along the abdomen. Shame about the minging photo!

Many thanks to Noppadon for pointing out this species! Apologies once more for the terrible photo!

240: Anax panybeus Hagen, 1867

              Number: 240 / Family: Aeshnidae / Genus: Anax

Species: Anax panybeus / Arrow Emperor

Province(s) sighted: Phitsanoluk, Udon Thani

Habitat: Forested Ponds and Streams

In flight: May-September / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: All Anax Species

Back in 2015, I was at Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park in the Phitsanulok area and I saw an Anax species patrolling a large lake and I wasn't sure exactly which species it was. I managed to get a couple of shots of it but it was so far away and the closest I could get covered about 3 pixels. Anyway, I asked on the Facebook group, Dragonflies of Thailand and a few experts, including Noppadon Makbun suggested that it could be Anax panybeus, based on the faint and small spots on the abdomen. The real reason why there wasn't much confidence was that it seemed out of range... until my daft brother, Paul, and his big lens for birding popped up again. 

He was searching an area in Udon Thani province of all places and while out looking for feathered friends in Isaan, he takes photos of interesting looking dragons for me to look at. This time he came back with a good photo of an Anax species. I was confident that it was Anax panybeus but got confirmation from Noppadon Makun first and he stated that it was, in fact, not just a provincial record, but a new record for the whole of the NE of Thailand which is an amazing feat! Congrats, r Paul! But, that got me thinking again... and I dug out a few other photos of the one I saw patrolling at PHRK and putting two and two together, I came up with A. panybeus too, commonly known as the Arrow Emperor! Not quite in the NE of Thailand but still another great find, which Noppadon confirmed later. So, as I only have a couple of terrible shots of it, I am posting Paul's great in-light shot of his he saw in Udon Thani!

The Male

This is Paul's great effort in capturing a male, A. panebeus, while in flight...

...and here is my poultry attempt...

I must get a better photo of him one day (I did only have a 180mm lens on me!)

First photo courtesy of my brother, Paul, as a placement photo until I can get a good shot my own. Many thanks, r kid!

179: Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839)

Number: 179  / Family: Aeschnidae / Genus: Anax    
Species: Anax guttatus / Pale-Spotted Emperor   
Habitat: Ponds and Lakes (Uplands and Lowlands)
Province(s) sighted: Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Petchabun, Loei 
Sightings (by me): Uncommon
In flight (that I have seen): May-October    
Species easily confused with: All Anax Species

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...

The Male

A very majestic species that left me looking anything but... literally sitting in a pond trying to get the right angle as it kept stopping near me. 

The Female

I was fortunate enough to capture the oviposition of a female (laying eggs) while at Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary in Loei. She spent a good while on each stem before flying around and then working another stem. It was amazing to see!

Searching for decent submerged stems...

And here's another...

Those ripples are caused by her moving bit by bit down the stem.

137: Anax indicus (Lieftinck, 1942)

Number: 137 / Family: Aeschnidae / Genus: Anax

Species:  Anax indicus / Elephant emperor

Habitat: Forested Ponds

Province(s) sighted: Chaiyaphum, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Loei, Petchabun

In flight: July - August / Sightings (by me): Uncommon

Species easily confused with: All Anax Species

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! Since then, I have seen this species at several locations but is always in low numbers.

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. 

Male in hand, caught with my net at Phu Phan National Park, Kalasin.

And upon release... one shot (wrong angle so missed his wings) ... and ... gone! Still happy to see one so close up!

Many, many thanks to Oleg Kosterin for the ID and information regarding identification of the species. Also, thanks to Noppadon Makbun for his comments.

47. Anax aurantiacus Makbun, Wongkamhaeng & Keetapithchayakul, 2022

No: 47 / Family: Aeschidae / Genus: Anax

Name: Anax aurantiacus / Orange Emperor / แมลงปอยักษ์เขียวท้องส้ม

Habitat: Forested streams, uplands and lowlands
Province(s): Chiang Mai, Loei
In flight: March-October / Sightings (by me): Rare

Easily confused with: N/A  

When I visited Chiang Mai from March-April 2010, I spent a few afternoons at a nice, but very busy waterfall, called Huay Gairo (spelling?), on the way to Doi Suthep. While there I noticed one or two large dragonflies patrolling the area but never wanting to land... ever! Just up from the waterfall was another tiny stream not even a half-metre wide. There were a number of common damselflies there, but not much else. Until I saw one of those patrolling dragonflies resting! It was some distance away and I had to move with caution through the stream to get closer. And off it went... missed it. I began looking for other species again, and noticed, to my amazement, it had returned to the very same spot. This time I was already close and managed to fire off a number of photos to get it. And there it was... a new dragonfly species for me: Anax aurantiacus. 

The male

I managed to capture photos of this magnificent dragonfly. The male is large in size with green and black stripes to the thorax and an amazing orange abdomen. Its caudal appendages are also large. It was resting in the shade from the hot afternoon sun under a large leaf in the reeds. I was burning to death in the sun, but I didn't care. 

The female

I was lucky to spot the female in flight (though briefly) when I visited Phu Rua NP, Loei province. I saw two males combating with other species. Suddenly, this female appeared from nowhere in front of me hovered for a few seconds above the stream and disappeared just as quickly as she appeared. Still, great to see a female at last!

Here's a couple of images that are OK... one with flash and one without. I think it can be confidently ID'd from these photos (and a male was close by).

This really is a truly magnificent creature.