21. Calicnemia erythromelas (Selys, 1891)

No: 21 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Calicnemia

Name: Calicnemia erythromelas / Black-tipped Mountain Damsel* / แมลงปอเข็มหญ้าแดงปลายดํา

Habitat: Uplands man-made pond
Province(s): Chiang Mai
In flight: April / Sightings (by me): Very rare

Easily confused with: Calicnemia chaseni; Calicnemia miles 

*Name made up by me.

On my last day up Doi Inthanon (April 10, 2010), I got on my motorbike and headed about 5 kms away from the main headquarters. I seemed to be going nowhere until I came across a small man-made lake high up in the mountains. I decided to have a quick look and saw a number of upland species, which I already had good photos of. My battery was about to die on me, and the batteries on my flash had already gone. I had also taken over 4,000 photos in 7 days there. It was time to give up... well, not quite. As I walked I noticed what looked like Calicnemia miles. Until I noticed the length of the black on its abdomen. I wasn't sure what it was and took a number of photos in fading light and then my battery finally gave in too. I sent the photos to Noppadon Makbun and he confirmed that it was indeed Calicnemia erythromelas. I later found out it's a rare montane species. I was thrilled. Unfortunately, they aren't the best photos in the world and I didn't get to see the female, but I'm happy to at least see it.

The male

Very similar in size and colour to Calicnemia miles, but doesn't have red on the thorax. Its most obvious feature is the last segments of the abdomen which are completely black. Looks like it's been dipped in paint.

20. Calicnemia miles (Laidlaw, 1917)

No: 20 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Calicnemia

Name: Calicnemia miles / Red-striped Mountain Damsel* 

Habitat: Sluggish (Almost Dried Out) Uplands Forested Streams
Province(s): Chiang Mai
In flight: April & June / Sightings (by me): Uncommon

Easily confused with: Calicnemia chaseni; Calicnemia erythromelas

*No common name so based it on an existing name of 'Mountain Damels' for Calicnemia and 'Red-striped for obvious reasons.

When I visited Chiang Mai for two months in March-May 2010, one of the species Noppadon Makbun told me to look out for was Calicnemia miles. I look for it, as well as many other species, but I thought it was going to elude me. Then, one day, in late April I saw two males and a female high up Doi Inthanon. They like really dark areas and maybe I had just missed them before. But once I had noticed the male, it was really obvious. Since seeing this species, I have returned to Chiang Mai and saw a healthy number at Doi Suthep.

The Male

The male is stunning, with red, black and white stripes on the thorax and a bright red abdomen. The end segments are completely black.

The Female

The female is similar to the male, but is much duller in comparison and the abdomen is more robust.

This female was busy cleaning herself off following ovipositing.

A copula

Amazingly, I went back to see if I could find them again two days later (as I wasn't happy with the original photos) and there they were... in a copula! I was so happy to see that.

Ovipositing

I watched the copula for a while and was really happy when the female began ovipositing. Unfortunately, they really liked to be a darkened, shaded area so I had to use flash. She likes to lay her eggs on rotting roots, in the minimal amount to water. The tiny stream was almost dry.

I'm not sure of the distribution of this species. All I know is that it is in flight while I was in Chiang Mai, in April. Also, if you look for this species, it loves shaded areas, so look carefully!

13. Calicnemia imitans (Lieftinick, 1948)

No: 13 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Calicnemia 

Name: Calicnemia imitans / Grey-banded Mountain Damsel* / แมลงปอเข็มหญ้าแถบเทา

Habitat: Forested uplands streams
Province(s): Chiang Mai; Kanchanaburi
In flight: March to April / Sightings (by me): Uncommon

Easily confused with: N/A

*Name made up by me.

There are four species of Calicnemia and I have been lucky enough to spot three species so far. Calicnemia imitans was the first I saw and is probably the most common. C. imitans likes dark and forested areas along slow moving shallow streams. 

The male

The adult male has blue and black stripes on the thorax and the abdomen is very slim and blue also. 

Two's company...

A pair of males

The young male

The young adult male looks very similar to the mature male, but has yellow stripes instead of blue. 

The female

The female looks very much like the young adult male. 

Teneral female???

I saw this newly emerged specimen at first light in Kanchanaburi and sent the photos to Noppadon. He believes it to be Calicnemia sp. and it looks mostly like C. imitans to me. If you know otherwise, please let me know. 

If you click on the photo you can clearly see red and yellow veins running along the abdomen.

Here, she was happy to sit on my thumb. Stunning little thing.

C. imitans is a species I have only seen at a few places in Chiang Mai from March-April. The male seemed to be more common than the female, but they are fairly abundant when you spot them. Thanks to Noppadon Makbun for directing me to them.