When at Huu Lien last weekend we noticed some Gynacantha flying low over the field nearby a stream and were able to catch one. It appeared to be different from Gynacantha subinterrupta, with light colored epiproct and differently shaped thin cerci. The abdomen also did not have the checkered appearance of subinterrupta, even if the thorax was quite similarly colored. The next evening we saw many more at the same location, hunting for insects low over the grasslands adjacent to the same stream as the evening before. In fact G. saltatrix had been reported from Huu Lien during the survey by Cuong and Toan, so I considered it that species, which is not rare, known from Southern China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It has strong likeness to G. japonica, but that species to my knowledge had not been recorded in Vietnam, although it is known from Southern China. I therefore published this originally as G. saltatrix, but as pointed out by Wen Chi Yeh, it is in fact G. japonica, as can be judged from the relative length of epiproct and cerci, with G. japonica displaying much longer cerci.
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| Gynacantha japonica, male |
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| Slim cerci and light colored epiproct of male in ventral view, cerci over 4 times length of epiproct |
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ReplyDeleteI would say this is G. japonica!
ReplyDeleteDear Chi Yeh, I checked up on this. Thank you very much for your comments. I was put on the wrong footing due to the extreme similarity in the outward appearance of these species and by the fact that G. saltatrix had already been recorded at Huu Lien. However, the relative length of the cerci to the paraproct are clearly in favor of G. japonica. I adjust accordingly!
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