A third Aethriamantha species - A. gracilis

Last year I encountered Aethriamantha gracilis in three different provinces in central Vietnam. The first encounter was with several males in a large pool in fields adjacent to a river in Quang Nam Province in early May. The initial enthusiasm, because I considered this a new finding for Vietnam, was dampened a little when already a few weeks later I found it near Bao Loc in some peaty ditches, where it was still present in June. And in September I found it at yet another very different location, at a pond in the forest near K'bang in Gia Lai Province. Clearly this is not a rare species, maybe overlooked because of its similarity to several of the Brachydiplax species? But let's face it, it is a little gem and worth paying attention to.

Male Aethriamantha gracilis, Bao Loc, Lam Dong, June 2016

Another male

Well, they all pretty much look the same, another male.