*Original posting updated on December 6, 2022. This species was described in Karube & Kompier, 2018
The Yen Bai area is a true treasure trove for Aeshnids in early summer. Several species of
Planaeschna, of
Periaeschna, of
Petaliaeschna, of
Cephalaeschna. Haruki Karube had alerted me to the occurrence of a large
Periaeschna of which he had only seen teneral specimens. Well, June 30 was a very hot day and around midday quite a few Aeshnids were hanging in cool shaded places along one of my favorite streams. One specimen was flying around a bit between a few large boulders and I was able to catch it. It appeared to be a
Periaeschna, but it just seemed very bulky. Later at home the difference between this specimen and normal
P. magdalena was striking. Even if I have not been able to catch a male yet, this must be the enigma large
Periaeschna sp. and a possible species novum. At 76mm this is a large insect! (Together with Haruki Karube I described this species in 2018, after I had also collected a male in 2016 as
P. furukawai.)
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| This insect is almost identical to P. magdalena, but it is much larger |
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| And, as is visible here in lateral view, the yellow markings on the abdomen are much more prominent |
I have a male from Cao Bang city, Tom. Yes, very similar to P. magdalena but very large size!
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