186: Tramea virginia (Rambur, 1842)

Number: 186  

Family: Libellulidae

Genus: Tramea   

Species: Tramea virginia 

Common name(s): Saddlebag Glider  

Synonyms: N/A    

Habitat: Lowland Forested pond   

Province(s) sighted: Phu Wiang National Park, (Khon Kaen) 

Sightings (by me): Rare (1 male) 

In flight (that I have seen): September    

Species easily confused with: Tramea transmarina euryale

Well, I am desperate to get to that magical 200 species barrier (though I may need a few more due to some of them not identified yet - I really want 200 identified species photographed). And, though it is rare nowadays, I will never give up until I get there. I am now in the process of wading through about 10 million backed up photos  (sorting out other bugs and animals too). Suddenly, from a set of photos from Phu Wiang last year, I noticed a few record shots of a Tramea transmarina euryale male that, well, didn't sit right. The problem was that there were several males flitting about on that  day and all seemed to want to land on the same stick. I took a few photos and left it at that (a record shot for Khon Kaen). In any case, I was preoccupied with hundreds of Amphiallagma parvum at the same small pond (I had only ever seen them in tiny numbers before). But, looking carefully again last night, one of the specimens was clearly not T. transmarina euryale. The colour patches on the wing bases were far too big and I also noticed that it had a whitish face instead of having a metallic blueish patch. Doing a little research I saw Tom Kompier's brilliant examples from Vietnam and started to get excited. I then sent my photo to Noppadon Makbun, who did a little research himself and came up with it probably being Tramea virginia - the same species I thought it was. I couldn't be happier. And though it's only a record shot (and the sun was right in my face), I now know where it is... and I will find it again.

According to the IUCN Red List: "There is a single old record from Thailand". So, not a bad find really!

You can see the large patch on the base of the wings and he has a whitish face.

I will return and find you again for better shots!

154: Macrodiplax cora (Kaup in Brauer, 1867)

Number: 154

Family: Libellulidae

Genus:  Macrodiplax

Species:  Macrodiplax cora

Common name(s): Coastal Glider, Cora’s Pennant, Wandering Pennant

Synonyms: Diplax cora (Kaup in Brauer, 1867)

Habitat: Large, exposed ponds, lowlands

Province(s) sighted: Nam Phong NP & Khon Kaen environs

Sightings (by me): Rare

In flight (that I have seen): January-May

Species easily confused with: Crocothemis servilia servilia; Rhodothemis rufa; Urothemis signata signata

A new year and a new species already! On a very short afternoon trip around Khon Kaen environs (basically near home), I stopped at an area with a series of open lakes I hadn't bothered with before, as it looks like every other lake in Khon Kaen. Surrounded by cultivated farmland and land which is under housing development - and being January - and you could forgive me for not holding out much hope. Except I couldn't be further from the truth. A few kilometres from where I was stunned to see Ceriagrion cerinorubellum, I bumped into a species I couldn't work out quite what it was. With the world's brightest sunshine blinding me, all I could see was a red dragonfly. It looked like Urothemis signata signata, yet it seemed to perch very near the water's edge and low down (not high up on twigs). When disturbed, it would hover for long periods - another characteristic unlike U. signata. So I tried to get a photo. Eventually, I managed just about to get a record shot and knew what it was straight away ... Macrodiplax cora. The prominent stripe along the abdomen reminds me of a human backbone. I tried and tried to get good shots, but with the horrible lighting and the fact that the specimen was extremely skittish, I moved on. There were several other males and I also saw a copula. So they are well and truly established there. I had heard that the species doesn't go any higher than Bangkok (it is supposed to like areas along the coast), so I was pleasantly surprised to see the species living happily in a lake in Khon Kaen. 

I returned the following day at 10.30 a.m. and unlike the previous day, it was dull and windy. AND devoid of any specimens. I decided to visit a few other lakes and then returned at 1.00 p.m. They were still absent ... well, almost. I managed to spot a solitary male and he was very cooperative, unlike the previous day when they would fly away even if I breathed. I have since spotted a solitary female at Nam Pong National Park, though I am not sure it is an established species there,

The male

The male looks like many other similar red pond species, but can easily be distinguished by its unique 'human backbone' dorsal stripe along the abdomen.

Here you can clearly see the 'backbone' dorsal stripe, which helps distinguish the species.

The female

The female looks almost identical to the male (if you can find it!) and has the same prominent dorsal 'backbone' stripe along the abdomen. However, it is more of a yellow-orange colour and can be separated easily (except for the young male which is very similar in colour). I had spotted 1 or 2 females previously, but they were always part of a copula and I couldn't get anywhere near them. Then, following many hours of searching, I saw an extremely skittish female perching high up in the branches of a sparse tree set back from the same ponds where I have spotted many males. She was extremely difficult to approach and it took almost an hour in baking sunshine for me to get close enough to get half-decent shots. If you do see a female, approach with extreme caution ... or you could miss out!