Tuesday 26 August 2014

A few more damsels from Cat Tien worth mentioning


During the first week of August I was the guest of Roy Bateman at the lodge there, helping with the dragonfly list for the reserve. A terrible time as far as the weather was concerned. I sadly lost one camera to the incessant rain and my lenses were foggy for a large part. Still, a few additional record shots…
Let's start with Pseudocopera ciliata. A common species, but the interesting thing is that as far as I know this species is monotypic. However, in northern Vietnam the apical half of the inferior appendages is white, like the remainder of the appendages, whereas in Cat Tien, and as far as I could verify from photos from Thailand also elsewhere in the south the apical half is black.

Close-up of the appendages


This little lady is a fresh female Onycharga atrocyana, photo taken in the rain, sorry.

And this little fella is Agriocnemis nana, a pretty whispy thing that I saw on several occasions, one at the pond in the lodge garden. Apparently a southern species

When I saw this immature Argiocnemis rubescens my heart skipped a beat. It is so different from the pruinose pale examples I saw in Bac Kan Province that it is hard to believe it is the same species, certainly if you also take a look at the mature version from Cat Tien.

For this is the very blue mature male. I saw many, and none should any trace of pruinosity. Like: really? The same species?

The immature male along a tarmac road in inundated grass

A mature male perched at the edge of a pool

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.