Friday 8 January 2016

Gynacantha bayadera - yet another Gynacantha (species 9)

I had long been looking out for Gynacantha bayadera in Vietnam. According to the IUCN website it is a widespread species, occurring from India to the south of China. Is is mentioned as native to Vietnam. However, until now I had not been able to find it. After James found Gynacantha khasiaca, albeit probably at least a new subspecies, at Cat Tien, the tally for Gynacantha species recently in Vietnam was already at 8. This includes the record by Ellenrieder et al. of Gynacantha hyalina from Cuc Phuong. On January 1 I finally caught up with a female Gynacantha bayadera, easily identified by the apple green thorax and face and plain frons (no T-mark) near Duong Dong lake on Phu Quoc. The next evening I also caught a male along a forest road at the north side of the island (where it flew with G. basiguttata and G. subinterrupta). Clearly it is not a rare species on the island. The male too is try green, with unmarked frons.

Male Gynacantha bayadera, a pretty, very green, small species
The female, likewise very green
The appendages of the male
And the (almost) unmarked green frons

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