An additional Coeliccia species from Sa Pa*

*This entry was adjusted on January 2, 2020. Coeliccia mingxiensis is clearly a synonym of C. cyanomelas, as was shown well in a recent paper by Yu et al. (2019) in IJO. I have therefore adjusted the text accordingly.

I am running very much behind with my discoveries of this spring. On May 18 I was checking some small streams in the Love Waterfall area above Sa Pa and one of the species I hoped for was Coeliccia hoanglienensis, described in 2007 by Cuong from the same area. For Vietnam this is still the only location and I do not think it had been recorded after Cuong's record of 2005 of 2 males. But then again, who is looking. By now it has also been recorded from Lao DPR by Yokoi, so it may be more widespread, if thin on the ground. It is a lovely species. I saw just one male over a tiny stream, where it was perched on some grasses.

Another interesting Coeliccia that we now know to be more widespread is Coeliccia mingxiensis [these are nothing but immature C. cyanomelas, it is pretty disturbing I had missed that point]. I already mentioned seeing it in Xuan Son in April, but early May I also encountered several males and females on mount Mau Son in Lang Son Province. This too is clearly more widespread, but it also seems to fly only in spring.

With C. hoanglienensis I know have 14 species of Coeliccia in Vietnam. There are several known that I have not seen, like C. doisuthepensis and C. yamasakii, just to indicate the wonderful variety of this genus.

The dark male of Coeliccia hoanglienensis, with blue flanks and mint-green dorsal stripes. Note that it does not have a tail-light.

Close-up of the dorsal pattern of the thorax

Immature Coeliccia cyanomelas female at Mau Son mountain on May 3. Note the grey-and-brown eyes and the distinct bands on the last segments.

The male at the same location

Mature Rhinocypha chaoi and a female Macromia septima

July 12 I went to Mau Son in Lang Son Province, another long drive. And at Mau Son followed the grueling walk down to the stream in the valley, followed by the climb back up. It was warm and it was not pleasant. I also received several bee stings (thank you, bees).

But I found what I came for, Rhinocypha chaoi. One of the prettiest damsels I have seen (and I have seen many). In May I had an immature male, but really wanted to see the adult. In the end I saw 5 males and a female.

While searching for them I noticed a smallish Macromia that flew a few round over the stream and then went up into a tree, where it hung from a leaf. I could just catch it and I was thrilled to see it was M. urania. But then I noticed the face was reddish, and thus it was M. septima! Only the second time I see this species and the second female. The males must be out there!

Male Rhinocypha chaoi. This species is so beautiful, it is unreal.

In dorsal view the abdomen is particularly striking. When it flies about you see azure specks dance over the water surface.

The female up in a tree having a snack.

Female Macromia septima. Note the amber wing-patches and the antehumeral surrounded by red (see also below) 

Note the reddish lower half of the dorsal side of the thorax and the reddish face

Oviposting Bayadera species!

Saturday July 11 I was checking a stream near Nam Bung in Yen Bai Province. Yes, we know that now from the previous posts. But here I want to relate a special spectacle. In the morning I saw a great many Bayadera. Previously I had seen 3 species along this stream: B. hatvan, B. serrata, and B. hyalina. Of these B. hatvan was by far the commonest. This time I did not see B. serrata, but I saw many copula of the other two species. They could be seen ovipositing here and there in floating logs. But in the canyon there was a large tree that had been cut and toppled down into the stream, where it remained standing up. However, it stood in the middle of a water spray from a waterfall, making it soaking wet. There were a great many (several score) tandems ovipositing on it. Interestingly, the tandems formed single species clusters for some reason undoubtedly instinctively clear to them, but not to me.

Three tandems of Bayadera hatvan out of a great many more. It was not easy keeping my camera sort of dry.

A single tandem of B. hatvan. I lined the camera up with the trunk, but in reality they were almost vertical.

Two tandems of B. hyalina, braving the wetness. They were 20cm lower than the Bayadera hatvan tandems.

Adjusted angle of the same tandems of Bayadera hyalina.

Two interesting female gomphids from the Nam Bung area.

Saturday July 11 I caught a small female gomphid near Nam Bung. I had never seen it before and studying it in hand revealed a very neat "horn" on the occipital ridge. Now, female gomphids very often have horns on their heads, but the shape of this one, like the tail of a diving whale ("fluking") is extra-ordinary. This pointed me to the genus Sinogomphus. This is, at least for me, really exciting. Last year in early May I had caught Sinogomphus leptocercus in the same general area, but thereafter the species remained elusive, in spite of several searches. I have no description of the female of this species, so I have to exercise some caution here. Nevertheless it is not very likely at all that there is another Sinogomphus species in the area (there are no Sinogomphus species known from Vietnam). So this should be the female of S. leptocercus!

Another female I caught is Leptogomphus divaricatus. This is not at all a rare species, being probably the commonest species in the north of the genus after L. perforatus. But I have not often seen the female and failed so far to take pictures of its distinctive divaricate horns. Glad to put that right!

First the female of Leptogomphus divaricatus, typical as Leptogomphids go.

But they can often be told apart by the horns on the occipital ridge. L. divaricatus has two that bend outward in opposite directions.

But look at this! Is this remarkable or what? Female Sinogomphus leptocercus. As if mommy bound her baby's hair together into a little palm tree.

Dorsal pattern fits several Sinogomphus species and of course also S. leptocercus.

The whole specimen in lateral view. The lateral pattern of the thorax is a little different from the male (see that entry), but otherwise patterning is similar.

Trip to Nam Bung (Yen Bai) - a superb surprise and a second Anotogaster*

*Adjusted on June 1, 2016. This subspecies now published as Orthetrum melania superbum.

July 11 I drove all the way to Nam Bung along the QL32 (in Yen Bai Province) in search of an enigma large Periaeschna species, of which I caught a female two weeks back. But I failed to see it again. I spent the beautiful day along a stream that runs through forest and a canyon, the same place where I had seen the Periaeschna.

The trail through the forest had some puddles and it was here that I spotted a large pale-blue Orthetrum with pale appendages, a dark face, and a black dorsum to the thorax with very prominent and clear antehumeral stripes. The wingtips had a darker crescent and the wing bases had a prominent blue-and-black basal patch. I was pretty convinced that by now the genus Orthetrum was not going to present surprises, but here I was faced with what was obvious a new species for Vietnam.

I collected a single male of the 4 males present at the puddles. It is very weird. These puddles were dirty, with buffalo crap and mud, nothing special. If you consider this, why on earth would this species be rare? Also interesting, Orthetrum triangulare was omnipresent (it is a very common species in this area), and also all around, but not at these few puddles. Clearly it can not compete with this species (in fact the abdomen of O. triangulare is 30mm, but of the present species 37mm, so it is much larger).

From the shape of the appendages, the coloration (face, wing base and tip, abdomen, thorax (but not the dorsum) I can only conclude this is Orthetrum melania. This species was long considered to be a subspecies of O. triangulare, although that is no longer the case and the co-exist in the south of China. Indeed, structurally the caudal appendages and sex apparatus look similar unless you look carefully. Originally this species was thought to be restricted to Japan, but it is now known to have a much larger range. O. melania has also been found in Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan. Therefore it is maybe not surprising it also occurs in Vietnam.

There are however a few aspects that indicate that this may be an (unknown) subspecies. The specimen is right at the top of the range for Japanese specimens, with abdomen 37mm. The median space in the hindwing is clear, but integral part of the basal patch in the Japanese specimens. The basal patch is also smaller, not covering the base of the anal loop. But most prominently, the dorsum of the thorax has no pruinosity. It is solid black with clearly demarcated antehumeral stripes that are not pruinose, but truly blue in color. These antehumerals are surprising, because they are absent in the true O. melania, which has a unicolored pale dorsum as immature, that gets covered in pruinosity like the rest of the thorax. Most Japanese specimens have all black appendages, but some have paler tips of varying extent. As can be seen in the photos of the Yen Bai specimens there is some variety there too, from all pale to pale in the apical halve. Nevertheless, the overlap in characteristics makes it unlikely this is a completely different species. I am curious to hear what specimens in the south of China look like. If they are the same as in Japan the present specimens are even more remarkable. I have not been able to find any similar species on the web.

Another surprise was Anotogaster klossi. I have seen A. gigantica in the same general area, but A. klossi only at Pia Oac. Interestingly, it passed over the same track and puddles where I found O. melania.

Let's get this out of the way. Anotogaster klossi, with characteristic reddish colour on abdomen, yellow mandible bases and long superior appendages in which no obvious tooth visible halfway. 

To start the argument: scan of Orthetrum triangulare (top) and O. melania (bottom). The size difference is obvious.

The first male O. melania I noticed. This specimen has completely pale appendages.

The same male in dorsal view. 

The same male in hand. The dark face clearly visible. But what is especially eye-catching is the dorsal pattern. Although the lateral grey is a powdery substance that is easily scratched, the antehumeral stripes (or maybe dorsal stripes is better) are not the result of powder. They contrast very strongly with the solid black remainder.

Note the lack of colour in the median space

Another male, with mostly black appendages with only pale apices.

Appendages in ventral view

In dorsal view

And in lateral view

The hamulus and lamina in lateral view

Two additional species of Burmagomphus

Burmagomphus asahinai was described as recently as 2012 by Kosterin et al. from Cambodia. Dennis Farrell has shown its occurrence in Thailand (where in fact it had also been recorded by Asahina, who left it unidentified (see Kosterin et al.). Last year James Holden caught a female Burmagomphus in Cat Tien National Park that appeared to be this species, but as it concerned a single female, released after in hand photography, its identity was hard to prove. In June this year James returned to Cat Tien and was able to take a picture of a male that quite clearly shows B. asahinai. Caution must be taken with the identification of such species on the basis of photographs, but it is quite distinctively patterned. Karube has also recorded this species from Dalat. Its occurrence is hardly surprising, given its presence in neighboring Cambodia and Thailand.

Another species of Burmagomphus recently published (Karube, 2014) from Vietnam and, based on its two records from Tam Dao in the north and Lam Dong in the south apparently widespread, if uncommon, is B. divaricatus. I ran into a teneral male when checking a relatively open river near Cao Bang City in Cao Bang Province on May 20. Subsequent visits did not show up other specimens, so I will have to make due with the teneral specimen for publication here.

A hazy shot from some distance, but good enough, I would venture to say. Burmagomphus asahinai, male, June 2015. Photo by James Holden.

Female of B. asahinai. Summer 2014. Photo by James Holden. As can be seen from  the cluster of eggs she was ovipositing.

With its distinctive thoracic pattern and divaricate appendages, this male B. divaricatus could be identified without capture, which was lucky for it, given its fragile state.

Close up of the dorsum of the thorax.

And close-up of the divaricate inferior appendages. 

Indothemis carnatica - easily overlooked?

Last year summer James Holden did a survey of dragonflies in Cat Tien National Park. I joined him for a bit and later revisited to expand a little on his work. One interesting species he found was Indothemis carnatica. In fact I failed to recognize the species when he showed it to me on photos and assumed it was Trithemis festiva. But James looked into it further and eventually solved the puzzle. In retrospect a clue to its identity was that it was seen at the deserted swimming pool in Cat Tien, a choice of habitat that does not suit T. festiva well, as that species prefers running water.

This spring Natalia von Ellenrieder et. al. published an article on their records in northern Vietnam, including Cuc Phuong National Park, and in it record I. carnatica from two locations in the park, the large lake in the middle and the abandoned swimming pool near the end of the central road. There is a pattern here…

Even though these records constitute the first for Vietnam, the choice of habitat indicates that it readily occupies new areas and / or ponds that combine relatively clean, but deeper water with rocky or stony surroundings.

Superficially they can easily be mistaken for the common T. festiva. Not only is it similar in coloration and shares a brownish basal patch to the hindwing, but it also has the habit of hovering over water or perching on nearby rocks or vegetation. If you google T. festiva you will find several misidentified I. carnatica amongst the photos. This indicates it may not be as rare as thought.

According to IUCN this is a little known and scarce species, but in fact this may partially be because it is overlooked.

Anyway, on June 16 part of my mission to Cuc Phuong was to see the species for myself, after having overlooked it in Cat Tien. In the middle of the morning I found several males over the abandoned swimming pool. I did not see any females. When it became too warm most species withdrew from the pond and so did I. carnatica.

Indothemis carnatica, male. Note the black-and-blue pattern on the abdomen and pale appendages.

Another photo of the same specimen

The same specimen up close in hand.

The male has a characteristic bulge on its lower belly (posterior on its venter, so to speak)