Anax parthenope julius - confirmed

Karube recorded Anax parthenope julius from Tam Dao in September 1990. Sebastien Delonglee recorded quite a few in September from Cat Ba Island. And I had seen some specimens in the field both in spring and autumn that seemed good candidates. But I had never been able to verify the species for sure. Until yesterday, when I decided to drive to Xuan Son and checked a large lotus pond in the hills along the QL32. There were several Anax cruising around and they looked smallish and had brownish abdomens. They looked like good candidates for Anax parthenope julius and when I finally caught one: yes, it was. Almost continuous pale line over the abdomen, facial pattern, pattern on the frons, very short epiproct. Coolio!
Have not yet seen A. aurantiacus, which is known from Central Vietnam, nor A. panybeus, which might occur, given its distribution both to the north and to the southwest of Vietnam. But it has not been recorded yet, although it is not that difficult to recognize when seen well. Yet another Anax is A. nigrofasciatus, a common mountain species.

Male A. parthenope julius, with extensive pale markings on brownish abdomen, reddish femora. A nice dragonfly.

The frons in dorsal view, with black cross bar bordered by pale blue

Seen from the front the frons has a clear horizontal black field. The brown spot on the postclypeus is an aberration.

The appendages in dorsal view. Note the very short and rounded epiproct.