Thursday, July 21, 2011

000. Tetrathemis irregularis hyalina (Brauer, 1868)

Number: 000
Family: Libellulidae
Genus: Tetrathemis
Species: Tetrathemis irregularis hyalina (possibly)
Common name(s): Elf
Thai name(s): 
Habitat: Ponds and lakes on the edge of forests (lowlands)
Province(s) sighted: Below Khao Yai NP (Nakhorn Ratchasima).
Sightings (by me): Uncommon
In flight (that I have seen): July (obviously longer)

The new species just keep on coming! I'm hoping to exceed 150 species before the season is out. The latest addition to my blog, is Tetrathemis irregularis hyalina. I have never seen one before, though I found it difficult to differentiate between this species and T. platyptera. Noppadon Makbun has ID'd the species for me and told me that small spots on the abdomen S2-4 are characteristic of the species.

Interestingly, I also found that T. irregularis and T. platyptera live side by side at this location.

I now doubt this is the correct ID. 

The female
I only saw the female of this species and they were abundant. No idea why I only saw females... it's usually the other way round with most species.




I will be returning to Khao Yao NP in a few weeks and will track down the male, hopefully. Many thanks to Noppadon Makbun for the ID.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Dennis,

    I was wondering if you might be able to look at a photo of a Tetrathemis I took in Kaeng Krachan last year. I am definitely a novice when it comes to Thai dragonflies and I have no resources other than the internet to work out identifications. I did my first trip to Thailand last year and photographed as many dragonflies as I could while out birdwatching. I managed something along the lines of 30 species and I still have a few to figure out. If you have a minute to look at the Tetrathemis, I would be most grateful. It can be found here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/20408991@N03/6737683099/in/photostream

    You've got a nice blog with lots of great photos. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete