A Cat Tien goody - Libellago hyalina

To my knowledge there are two species of Libellago recorded from Vietnam. Widespread Libellago lineata I encountered many times and Cat Tien National Park was no exception. It was quite common. But I noticed a male higher up in a bush that seemed to have a different abdominal pattern. Checking it in hand revealed also a different thorax pattern, with a kind of zigzag line. It turned out to be Libellago hyalina, a species known from nearby Binh Duong Province. It was less common than L. lineata, but still I encountered it every day in small numbers. The younger males and the females displayed the zigzag pattern, but later I also saw several mature males, with completely green-metallic thorax, quite different from L. lineata.

Young male Libellago hyalina, showing zigzag pattern on side of thorax and hyaline wingtips.

The female showing the same side pattern, the photo a little hazy due to foggy lenses

A mature male caught along a forested stream, where it was sitting low on weeds. The thorax now completely green and the abdomen showing the extensive reddish brown dorsum. The wing tips hyaline in this specimen too, even if you cannot see that in the photo.