Prodasineura mayhem in Cat Tien

James Holden is still in Cat Tien National Park and has expanded his search for Odonata to now also include damsels. Amazingly, he found three Prodasineura species in addition to the two species already known from the park. One of these was at the top of my wish list for 2015 (and the one I failed to see), another is a species described as recently as 2015 by Oleg Kosterin from Cambodia, and the third is a species that I also recently recorded from Phu Quoc and that may well be part of a complex of species that still needs sorting out. I will introduce all three here.

The first wonderful species is Prodasineura doisuthepensis. This smashing species was described in 2007 by Hoess from Thailand. Although the IUCN red list suggests it may be the junior synonym of P. auricolor, it has now been recorded from Vietnam and from Cambodia and appears to be a solid species. Not only are males distinctively different in coloration and shape of markings on their cranium, females too are differently colored. The specimen I already published on my blog (photographed by Toan) has relatively restricted blue dorsal markings and seems to also have less extensive blue on the cranium, so it is possible that another blue-marked species is in play. The specimens from Cat Tien are identical to those from Thailand.

Prodasineura doisuthepensis, photo courtesy of James Holden

Another male, courtesy of James Holden

In hand shot, courtesy of James, showing extent of blue on thorax and head

If the discovery of this dream damsel was not enough, one day James was taking its picture (see the second one above), when another species of Prodasineura flew into the frame. This turned out to be Prodasineura verticalis. Having said that, the P. verticalis from the north of Vietnam has much reduced markings on the dorsum of the thorax and it is possible these are in fact different species. I saw the same species also on Phu Quoc, but failed to make decent pictures.

"Southern" Prodasineura verticalis, Phu Quoc. Note black appendages.

Prodasineura verticalis, southern type, Cat Tien (courtesy James Holden). Note the pale appendages.

Immature male P. verticalis from Phu Quoc. White appendages and pale eyes.

And last, but not least, wonderful Prodasineura hoffmanni, described in 2015 by Oleg from Cambodia, albeit within walking distance of the border with Vietnam. Apparently it has also been recorded from Vietnam by Toan. A distinctive and very beautiful species.

Prodasineura hoffmanni from Cat Tien, courtesy James Holden

Prodasineura hoffmanni in hand, courtesy of James

And the same male, dorsal shot, by James. It looks somewhat darker here.

12 April, Melinh Field Station

April 12 was a beautiful day and I headed to Tam Dao to check raptor migration. Nothing flew, so very disappointing. Apart from a lone Chlorogomphus that is, exciting to know they are around already. But without birds, I decided to try Melinh. In a recent publication, Natalia von Ellenrieder et al. mention some interesting species from this area, but I had never been there. So I tried to go and stumbled onto the place without much difficulty. It has basically one major stream that runs through secondary forest and I followed it for quite a bit. Euphaea guerini was probably the commonest species. It is not all that common really, with Xuan Son providing good numbers, but elsewhere it is rare. Here is was common, followed by Mnais mneme, another nice species. And yet another reminder of Xuan Son was Prodasineura croconota, which I know also from Huu Lien. The commonest dragon was Orthetrum sabina, and for once I took some pictures of it. Other interesting species were Protosticta "grandis", a single female, Orolestes selysi, and Mortonagrion aborense, although that species by now is known to occur widely. The only gomphid was Ictinigomphus pertinax. Here are a few photos.

Brachydiplax chalybea flavovittata, a single male on a grassy pond

Handsome Prodasineura croconota, now also known to be widespread

Not a good picture, but it will do, I guess. Mnais mneme, orange-winged male

And because it was too common to ignore: male Orthetrum sabina

First entry of 2015, New Year's Resolutions

Recently I met with Toan when he was in Hanoi and he showed me a few intriguing photos. Clearly there is so much more to still look for. As a matter of fact, Nannophya pygmaea has already been on my wish list for a long time. It is therefore really heartening to know it is around in northern Vietnam. Toan had seen it in Ha Tinh Province. He also had photos of a fantastic blue Prodasineura. It looks like it could be P. doisuthepensis. It has been suggested that that species is a junior synonym of P. auricolor, just a blue version. However, it consistently seems to have more blue on S9-10 and a blue pattern on the prothorax and top of the head. These are absent in P. auricolor, not just replaced with yellow. I have seen many P. auricolor in the north, but never any that were blue, whereas that is highly distinctive. I do hope to see this blue gem in 2015 and maybe solve the mystery. And yet another species I would love to see, and for which I in fact already searched a few times (in the wrong places apparently) at Mau Son is beautiful Rhinocypha chaoi. There must be so much out there that I still missed, just check Sebastien's blog, or the literature, that 2015 will beyond a doubt prove very interesting. For now, my year list as of today includes Ischnura senegalensis.

Nannophya pygmaea, the world's smallest dragonfly (photo by Phan Quoc Toan)

And who would not want to see this beauty. Possible Prodasineura doisuthepensis, courtesy of Phan Quoc Toan

And painfully beautiful, certainly if you failed to find it, like me. Rhinocypha chaoi male, photo by Phan Quoc Toan.

Prodasineura coerulescens - another Prodasineura

One species that was on the Cat Tien list already, but that we just could not find, was Prodasineura coerulescens. On November 18 I decided that before we were going home I should at least give the Dong Nai river a closer look. Until that time we had largely ignored it. Yes, I know, silly. So, when a blue damselfly hovered just above the surface in typical Prodasineura fashion I knew that mystery was solved. Prodasineura coerulescens does occur at Cat Tien and it favors the rapid parts of the main river. It is a very nice damsel, as most Prodasineura in fact are. And a cool new species. It is known from both Thailand and southern Vietnam, apparently absent from Lao DPR and Cambodia, but maybe it is just awaiting discovery. I saw about 4 males. P. laidlawi is also known from Vietnam and similarly blue, but it has more extensive blue on S9 and a different pattern on the top of the head and the prothorax.

Prodasineura coerulescens, male, perched above the river

And another, hovering above the current

Huu Lien - still a treasure trove*

*Updated after publication of Paracercion ambiguum

On October 19 I was all day at Huu Lien and as we know I ran into beautiful Coeliccia galbina. Thus it was a memorable day. Most other goodies were there too. On the gomphid front Labrogomhus torvus was still flying. Not surprising, as we saw it into December last year. Ceriagrion nipponicum, Vestalaria miao, Atrocalopteryx atrocyana and A. auco (the newly described endemic), Paracercion ambiguum, Prodasineura croconota, Gynacantha japonica and many more. Here are a few additional photos.

Price for rarity is likely deserved by Atrocalopteryx auco. Although its brother A. atrocyana is common all over Huu Lien, I saw only a single male of this species.

But what I did not expect was a great many Prodasineura croconota still flying. Last year I had not seen them and only discovered them in spring this year. But apparently I just overlooked them last autumn. Quite a few tandems were active. This is of course a female.

And this a tandem, with the exquisite male easily identified

Just like last year, Gynacantha japonica was active at dusk, hawking over the paddies. Until now I have not found this species anywhere else. This is a male.

These are the distinctive appendages in ventral view, about 4 times the length of the epiproct

Recognizable by the almost absent lower appendages and the brown crescent along the wing tips: male Vestalaria miao.

And there he is! The Paracercion ambiguum. As usual common along the stream from the reservoir.

Rainy day in Huu Lien

Saturday July 24 I ventured to Huu Lien. Like Sebastien's visit last week in Xuan Son, to turned into a major wash out. After a good start in the forest or what is left of it, thunder sounded and the heavens opened. I found large parts of the reserve inundated anyway, presumably the result of the typhoon passing last week. As usual, a visit to Huu Lien gave mixed emotions. There is a lot to see, but on the way there I was met by dozens of motorbikes carrying logs and passing unnoticed by the entry gate. Clearly these are not people from inside the reserve using the forest. And the trail to the waterfall, described by Cuong as in largely pristine forest, is now open in several parts, where trees have been cut and right there turned into coal in shallow pits. It is really sad. Several people where busy producing coal while I was there and of course this continues day after day. Somehow nobody does anything about it.

Nevertheless the forest was full of Atrocalopteryx atrocyana, a fabulous damsel. I had not seen it yet this year, but now there were a great many fluttering about. Not easy to get good pictures, as they are both shy and because there is a need for flash in the dark surroundings where they were lurking. As distance varies, so does the lighting.

Female Atrocalopteryx atrocyana. If the forest disappears near the stream, it will be a severe blow for this species.

Male of the same species. The flash brings out the beautiful blue wings. Note also the long spikes on all legs.

Another male

Another great find was a male Rhinocypha of the drusilla group. It is different in detail from the species inhabiting Xuan Son. Last year I saw only a few and could only take pictures of one. This is the first for this year. In Xuan Son I have not seen its sibling species yet.

Note the extensive pattern of red on S9-10, but also extensive red on the remainder of the abdomen, but restricted to the dorsum of S2.

Another speciality that was present in good numbers is the small Coeliccia that also occurs in Cuc Phuong. I hope it description and name will be published soon.

Coeliccia sp, the female

And the male. A pretty species for sure, a lot smaller than most.

And lastly, I ran into a bundle of ovipositing Prodasineura croconota. Interesting I hope are the shots of the female.

Hovering in the dark, not easy, hence not in focus

The female of Prodasineura croconota

And the male, better known

Prodasineura verticalis - another addition to the Vietnamese list

Prodasineura verticalis is a beautiful Prodasineura species, like most Prodasineura species are actually rather beautiful. It apparently is very common in some parts of its range, described to include China (Guangxi), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. Vietnam is missing from this list. But I am glad to mention here that this species also occurs in Vietnam, although it is clearly not very common. We ran into at least 5 males hanging from twigs overhanging a stream in northern Bac Kan Province on June 25. However, it was not seen on any other streams in the general area. There are several subspecies of P. verticalis, some of which may warrant specific status. For now however, I am not able to ascertain its subspecific identity.

Prodasineura verticalis, male, a great addition to the Vietnamese list

Close-up of thorax and head

Prodasineura croconota - beautiful little critter

At Huu Lien on April 26 I did see something else besides Gomphids and guards. I ran into a beautiful Prodasineura over a heavily forested stream. Within 3 meters or so I saw two males. The would perch on the tips of twigs over the water and close to the surface, or hover close by above the stream, very much like Prodasineura autumnalis does. It was however very brightly colored, as nice change with, let's be honest, the rather boring P. autumnalis. Do Manh Cuong mentions a Prodasineura species (unidentified) from his survey. I do not know if he refers to the same species. It is different from the type specimen (from Taiwan) that has apparently more extensive orange markings on the head, but on the mainland of China this is reduced to two tiny orange spots, exactly as the present species has. The appendages also match well. I am therefore confident it is this species, which is also known from Guangxi, Guangdong, HongKong, Hainan and, according to the IUCN red list information, has recently also been found in Central Vietnam.

Ain't he a handsome fella: Prodasineura croconota, male

Appendages in lateral view

And in latero-dorsal view

Showing the dorsum of the head, with two tiny orange spots

A last few photos from Huu Lien* **

*Updated after publication of Paracercion ambiguum
** Updated again after publication of Lyriothemis kameliyae

Here are a last few photos from Huu Lien. It is Wednesday evening, so ready to start thinking of the coming weekend. But for now it is misty, rainy and cloudy, as it has been the last two months. Nevertheless, a few more shots of species seen on April 21. Tetracanthagyna waterhousei is new for the blog.

This is a male Prodasineura autumnalis, a rather common species

And this is a beautiful male Lyriothemis kameliyae. 

This is the Paracercion ambiguum male, a new species to science. 

And finally a female Tetracantagyna waterhousei. This bulky mama flew up higher into the trees, so I could not get better shots. It is a monster of a dragonfly.

Prodasineura autumnalis

Out of three Prodasineura species mentioned in Do & Dang, there is one that even based on the scarce available material for Vietnam is widespread and this is the rather drab Prodasineura autumnalis. I have seen it all over the place, along better quality and lesser quality small streams in or near hills, at least when there is some wood along them. You see a lot of females too and often tandems. They hover readily above the water or hang from the tips of snags and leaves. The males are blackish all over, but the females have a nice stripy pajama. This may well be the last entry for this year. Coming weekend I have to work and thereafter I will be elsewhere for a while. But mind you, in February this blog will be filled with new entries with a vengeance.

Prodasineura autumnalis, male

Prodasineura autumnalis, female, far away shot. As is so often the case, no good photos of the more common species.

Prodasineura autumnalis, immature male