Sunday 20 April 2014

Bayadera strigata - another Sapa goodie*

*This entry was adjusted on December 23 after consultation with Toan, who has been working on the genus.

On the morning of April 17 we were checking some bushes near the intersection of the QL 4D and QL 32 in Lai Chau Province when Kameliya spotted a fresh damsel. Caught, it was a male Bayadera with yellow markings on the thorax and a blackish green abdomen. At home, and making use of Wilson & Yu (2007) and Davies & Yang (1996) I identified it as Bayadera bidentata. As Wilson & Yu pointed out, structurally this insect is very similar to B. strigata and they therefore suggest they may be conspecific. However, this very fresh individual has clear yellow lines on the thorax. This rules out B. bidentata, the choice being between B. hyalina and B. strigata. The small tubercle at two-fifths of the superior appendages and the yellow U-shape on the metepimeron point towards B. strigata. The penile organ also fits this species nicely. B. strigata is a new record for Vietnam and was only known from its type-locality. Additional, preferably mature, specimens are needed. Next spring!

Teneral male Bayadera strigata

Dried penile organ in close-up

Obvious ventral tooth on superior appendages in dorso-lateral view. Inferiors curled due to drying.

In dorsal view the minute tubercle on the upper inside of the superior appendage at 2/5th of its length is visible.

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