185. Ceriagrion pallidum Fraser, 1933

Number: 185    
Family: Coenagrionidae    
Genus: Ceriagrion   
Species: Ceriagrion pallidum 
Common name(s): N/A   
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): Early July - Mid-August    
Species easily confused with: Ceriagrion fallax; Ceriagrion indochinense

A species I had been looking for at Phu Khieo WS for two years, has at last made an appearance. However, maybe I have seen it before, but simply overlooked it. At first glance it looks a lot like a young male C. indochinense or a young C. fallax (though I haven't yet seen this species at this location). However, luckily for me, it was actually the former species that helped me to ID it. Thanks to help and information from Noppadon Makbun, I knew it was similar to C. fallax but much paler. Then, yesterday, two male C. indochinense harried a slimmer much paler specimen into the reeds and it just looked different. I wasn't sure but following closer inspection and a few photos, it was in the bag: Ceriagrion pallidum was mine. It is exactly as the description and alongside C. indochinense, it is fairly easy to separate. Fortunately, I even managed to spot other males at different ponds and several females even made an appearance. Better still, this species is fairly easy to approach and not skittish like similar species in the genus. Now I just need to find C. nigroflavum (if it is actually now present in Thailand) to complete the "set" of known Ceriagrion species in Thailand, though there are more I am sure.

I would just like to add that I believe this to be more common and should be at different locations, though it is most definitely easy to overlook. Next time you see a pale specimen, don't simply pass it off as an immature C. indochinense or C. fallax. Take a closer look and you never know. 

The male

Here is a freshly emerged male, which I actually saw at the start of July, though I couldn't confirm it was correct until I found mature males. That said, it isn't really that different from the mature males, just even paler.

The female

Another, slightly paler still female

145. Noguchiphaea yoshikoae (Asahina, 1976)

Number: 145

Family: Calopterygidae

Genus: Noguchiphaea
Species: Noguchiphaea yoshikoae
Common name(s): N/A
Thai name(s): แมลงปอเข็มตาปีกสั้นโยชิโกะ
Habitat: Heavily forested uplands stream (approx. 900-1000 metres)
Province(s) sighted:  Stream/waterfall at Phu Rua National Park (Loei)
Sightings (by me): Fairly common only at this location
In flight (that I have seen): September (though must be longer)

After spotting a new provincial record earlier that day, I arrived at Phu Rua NP. It was too late in the day to look at the river then, so I had to wait until morning. 

A was up at 5 am, coffee, cigarette, some noodles and I was off... I walked down to the river (there are two ways to get there and I took the slippery route, of course). I had to cross a tiny stream that I could hardly see because of seriously heavy mist. Just before the stream, I noticed a male Coeliccia poungyi. Then I looked up and saw a NEW SPECIES right in front of me, sitting in the trees (It was full of dew from the mist). Anyway, I saw this species and then saw many more specimens throughout the day. It turns out to be Noguchiphaea yoshikoae, a species previously recorded only in Chiang Mai and Vietnam, so a new species for me and another provincial record! Two provincial records in one trip AND I saw both male and female!

The mature male

It looks very similar to Vestalis smaragdina, but there are a few differences. It is smaller, has protrusions dorsally on the synthorax and the genitalia is more complex (it has a kind of brownish hook - you can see it if you look closely). Also, the white dorsal patch is solid from S8-10, whereas V. smaragdina it only covers part of S8 (from what I can tell anyway). They also seem less skittish than V. smaragdina.

I spotted several perching high up in this position... looking down on a stupid fat foreigner taking photos of their friends.

In the hand...

This gives an idea of size. This I managed to catch with my fingers.

Here is the genitalia (notice the brownish 'hook')

N. yoshikoae vs. V. smaragdina appendages...

Here you can see another difference between the two species. The caudal appendages are different and the white dorsal patch is different (S8 on N. yoshikoae is solid white, whereas it's only partially covered on V. smaragdina).

(top, N. yoshikoae; bottom, V. smaragdina)

The sub-adult male

The male is the same as the adult, but the dorsal patch on S8-10 and the caudal appendages are grey, not white.

Here's the first specimen I saw at about 6 a.m., which had a lot of early morning dew from the mist.

The teneral male...

I also briefly saw a teneral male, which had clearly only just taken to flight. The bugger still managed to fly high up into the trees before I managed to get really good photos though. Still, this one is OK.

The female

I was also lucky enough to spot the female. At this stream/waterfall, the females were fairly abundant. They are almost identical to the male, but slightly more robust. Also, the protrusions (like little horns) on the synthorax are far more apparent. 

In the hand...

I also caught this female with my fingers. She flew away safely afterwards.

Many, many thanks once again to Noppadon Makbun for confirmation of ID and for providing lots of useful information on the species. 

122. Ceriagrion fallax pendleburyi (Laidlaw, 1931)

Number: 122

Family: Coenagrionidae
Genus: Ceriagrion

 Species: Ceriagrion fallax pendleburyi

Common name(s): Black-tailed Marsh Dart
Thai name(s): แมลงปอเข็มสีพื้นปลายดำ, แมลงปอเข็มเซอร์อกเขียวท้องเหลือง
Habitat: Upland ponds, tree-lined

Province(s) sighted: Headquarters, Doi Inthanon National Park (Chiang Mai); possible sighting Phu Kradueng NP (Loei)

Sightings (by me): Fairly common at above location
In flight (that I have seen): April (though longer, I'm sure)

The 7th species of 12 from the Ceriagrion genus, and one I have only just realised I forgot to post! Back in April 2010, I visited Doi Inthanon National Park for 8 days and camped alone... quite literally. I was pretty much the only person there. It was a wonderful place where I encountered numerous new species, and one I will return to for sure. One species I saw fairly regularly in the bushes away from water, was Ceriagrion fallax 

pendleburyi

. It's similar to C. indochinense (blog no. 14), which are common in Khon Kaen. However, much of the latter segments of the abdomen are black. 

The male

As you can see, the male is similar to C. indochinense, except for the prominent black dorsal markings from S7-10. Caudal appendages black also.

The female

Female is similar to the male, but dull in comparison. Also, the females are extremely shy and fly far away at the slightest movement.

113. Vestalis anne (Hämäläinen, 1985)

Number: 113
Family: Calopterygidae
Genus: Vestalis
Species: Vestalis anne
Common name(s): N/A
Habitat: Forested upland streams
Location(s) sighted: Sai Yok Yai Waterfall (Kanchanaburi)
Sightings (by me): Uncommon
In flight (that I have seen): March (longer, I'm sure)

Three hyaline-winged (clear) species of the genus Vestalis are almost identical (V. amethystina, V. anne and V. amoena) and the only way to tell them apart is through the anal appendages (which is very difficult to do through photography). I had no idea how to tell from looking at the photos so made sure I took a clear photo of the terminal segments. I sent photos to Noppadon Makbun and he told me that it was Vestalis amoena. Since then, Noppadon has re-looked at my photos and now believes it to be Vestalis anne. (Proves just how difficult it is to tell them apart!) Still, another species for me! 

Patience is key to photographing this genus. Not only do they like dark areas of forest, they are also green. I often first spot this genus (mainly V. gracilis, which has brown tinted wings and is very common) by noticing the leaves or branches moving as though something has just dropped on it. Sometimes it's a damselfly! The other problem is that they are very cautious creatures and often fly away at the first sight of you. If you can stay near them without scaring them, you can slowly inch forward until you are close enough to take good photos. I believe in a way that they begin to trust you, or realise that you are not a threat. Or maybe I'm just becoming crazy!

The male

The male is less cautious than the female, but still a very wary creature. Unlike V. gracilis, the wings are clear.

The male appendages

In order to identify the species, you must get a decent photo of the appendages for accurate identification. I always use flash (with a large home-made bubble-wrap diffuser) for this purpose.

The female

The female was harder to spot than the male and tended to hide higher up in the bushes. This lady was kind enough to let me get close to her.

I think this species ranges from western Thailand moving southwards and is found along slow moving streams in good forested areas. If you find one, you should find several. 

63. Vestalaria smaragdina smaragdina (Selys, 1879)

Number: 63

Family: Calopterygidae

Genus: Vestalaria

Species: Vestalaria smaragdina smaragdina

Common name(s): N/A

Thai name(s): แมลงปอเข็มน้ำตกใหญ่ใต้เหลือง, แมลงปอเข็มน้ำตกอกเหลือง

Habitat: Upland shallow, crystal clear and often forested streams
Province(s) sighted: Phu Rua NP, Phu Kradueng NP (Loei); Doi Inthanon (Chiang Mai).
Sightings (by me): Uncommon, except at Phu Kradueng
In flight (that I have seen): April-December

When I first visited Phu Kradeung National Park, Loei, in October 2008, I came across a Vestalis species that I didn't know what it was. I later worked out that it was a fairly rare montane species called Vestalaria smaragdina smaragdina. 

The male

When I first visited the national park, I only saw two males, but as it was very early morning, I managed to get extremely close to one of them by wading carefully through Sat Gairo pond (and ended up with about 20 leeches on my legs, but it was worth it). The second image is uncropped, using a 105 mm Sigma Macro lens. The male is fairly easy to recognise as the bottom half of the thorax is yellow/white. The rest of it is a metallic green except for the white end segments.

The end of the road...

As I walked along the pathway to Sat Anodat pond at first light, I noticed a male had be captured in a web and was being devoured by a spider. 

The female
I recently spotted a hyaline female for the first time at Phu Kradueng NP in October 2012. Oddly enough, she was perched next to an orange-winged female - the only orange-winged specimen I have ever seen at Phu Kradueng.

I recently visited Phu Rua NP, Loei province (04/09/11) and was lucky enough to see a small number of orange-winged males and females. They were very hard to get near, but a little persistence paid off.

Orange winged male

The same as its hyaline winged counterpart, except has bright orange wings. I must admit, I thought it was a different species (I never knew there was an orange winged version), until the ID was confirmed by Noppadon Makbun.

 Orange winged female

The female is similar to that of the male.

Orange-winged female in the hand

Many thanks to Noppadon Makbun regarding the re-classification of this species from Vestalis to Vestalaria.

56. Megalestes kurahashii (Asahina, 1985)

Number: 56

Family: Synlestidae

Genus: Megalestes

Species: Megalestes kurahashii

Common name(s): N/A
Thai name(s): แมลงปอเข็มปีกกางใหญ่
Habitat: Upland forested pond/streams.
Province(s) sighted: Stream nr. headquarters, Doi Inthanon (Chiang Mai).
Sightings (by me): Uncommon
In flight (that I have seen): April (probably much longer)

One of the biggest damselflies I have come across, is Megalestes kurahashii. Although it is big, it is very difficult to spot. Mainly because it likes darkened areas and has excellent camouflage. I saw a few females, when I visited Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai, in April 2010. 

The male

I only saw one male when I visited Doi Inthanon. It was hanging around the edge of the large lake near the headquarters. It has fantastic metallic green and yellow markings to the thorax and a virtually green abdomen, only the caudal appendages are whitish in colour.

Here, he was almost blown off his perch by a strong gust of wind.

The female

The female is almost identical to the male, except the markings differ slightly along the thorax and the abdomen is slightly more robust. Also the end segments are rather chunky (2nd photos shows it up very well indeed).

I have only seen this species at Doi Inthanon in April. They were not common, but I did manage to spot 2 females and 1 male. The females were at the small river just outside the headquarters and the male was at the large lake near the headquarters. Both places are close together and I imagine that they oviposit in the river and not the lake. If you look for them, you really have to look hard!