Dragonflies & damselflies of Thailand

Sunday, April 5, 2026

256: Caliphaea thailandica Asahina, 1976

Number: 256 / Family: Calopterygidae / Genus: Caliphaea

Species: Caliphaea thailandica / Thai Shortwing*

Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai

Habitat: Forested Shaded streams

In flight: July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: Mnais Andersoni

*As there is no common name, I have used 'Thai' from the Thai name and given the genus the name 'Shortwing'.

One last species I saw in Chiang Mai at Doi Intanon with Noppadpn Makbun was a belter! And we were both surprised to see it! Caliphaea thailandica is a very rare species and we saw a very small number of them as we went from place to place. We spent ages trying to get shots of the first one but it was very shy. However, as we walked along a shaded stream, there seemed to be a male at every other opening with sunlight. As the sun got stronger, the males became less skittish and by the end, we both got plenty of good shots. I must admit, this was a special find for me and I was jumping for joy!

The Male

The male has a beautiful coppery colour on the thorax and abdomen and has yellowish-green at the base of the abdomen. The white dorsal patch is quite large too but it is the unique appendages that separate it from other similar species.

255: Cryptophaea yunnanensis (Davies & Yang, 1996)

Number: 255 / Family: Euphaeidae / Genus: Cryptophaea

Species: Cryptophaea yunnanensis / Clear-winged Satinwing

Province(s) sighted: Nan

Habitat: Forested Shaded streams

In flight: July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: N/A

On a recent trip to Nan province with my brother Paul and Noppadon Makbun, we hoped to find plenty of birds and dragonflies. Instead, we ended up trying to photograph moths in our room. We planned to stay for 4-5 nights depending on how good it was. However, it just rain heavily for the entire time, other than two very short afternoons. We got out a little... and saw very little. Nothing was showing as it was cold and miserable. Then, for a brief moment, one female damsel dropped down. Literally one poor photo later (everything was set up wrong and she was far away) and off she went again. And That was it. Fortunately, Noppadon has already seen the species and has good photos. So he knew what it was instantly: Cryptophaea yunnanensis. A new species for my records and I will return to get better photos and see the male hopefully. What is weird, is that Noppadon mentioned that this species is usually very approachable. But not that day! Never mind. Until the next time.

The Female

Terrible photo but at least I have now seen it. Quite a dull female, but has a nice stripe on the abdomen.

254: Bayadera hyalina Selys, 1891

Number: 254 / Family: Euphaeidae / Genus: Bayadera

Species: Bayadera hyalina / Clear-winged Satinwing

Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai

Habitat: Forested Shaded streams

In flight: July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: N/A

*As there is no common name, even for the genus, I decided upon 'Clear-winged' as it ties in with the Thai name and I raised the name 'Clear-winged' for the genus Bayadera. If you can think of better, let me know.

One species I have always wanted to see and apparently lives at Nam Nao National Park (though I have never seen it), is Bayadera hyalina. Well, that chance finally came along on a trip to Chiang Mai with Noppadon Makbun in July, 2024. While we were at Doi Inthanon, one teneral male dropped down onto a leaf right above up obscuring most of it, but you could clearly see the markings. I got a couple of photos, but Noppadon already has great shots of it. For me, it was a first. So I attempted to get him to move a little. It was a calculated risk and it absolutely worked! Then I woke up and ate my cornflakes. Nope... it flew about 10 metres or so, landed, then quickly moved again. I ended up with a couple of terrible shots. I wanted to cry, but then Noppadon reminded me that I had now seen it so not all bad! I will return one day to try and find it again. Having said that, I really want to find it at Nama Nao.

The 'Teneral' Male

Here is what we first saw... you can clearly see the stripes on the thorax.

When I tried to coax him out of hiding, he flew further away and was even more obscured.

Here I could see him better but he was about 15 metres away in the gloom... then gone...

Apologies for these terrible shots but will definitely return to try and find it again!

253: Ictinogomphus rapax (Rambur, 1842)

Number: 253 / Family: Gomphidae / Genus: Ictinogomphus

Species: Ictinogomphus rapax / Indian Common Clubtail

Province(s) sighted: Petchabun, Chiang Mai

Habitat: Forested Ponds, Marsh

In flight: March - July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: Ictinogomphus decoratus melaenops

One species I actually saw back in 2010 and then again on occasion (alegedly) over the years but didn't actually know it, is Ictinogomphus rapax. Commonly known as the Indian Common Clubtail, it looks identical to I. decoratus and it took a while for people to work out how to separate the two species. It appears that, other than additional markings on the thorax (though that isn'y always the case), the key to ID is a solid ring on S8 near the end of the abdomen.

The Male

This male sat on my hard drive for many years, leaving me to think it was Ictinogomphus decoratus melaenops... but you can clearly see the solid yellow ring towards the end of the abdomen.

Here is another specimen I saw back in 2010! Yep, it sat there for 15 years as the wrong species!

So, if you have lots of photos of the common species, take a look as you never know! I a sure I have more too.

252: Coeliccia doisuthepensis Asahina, 1984

Number: 252 / Family: Platycnemididae / Genus: Coeliccia

Species: Coeliccia doisuthepensis / Doi Suthep's Sylvan*

Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai

Habitat: Forested Stream

In flight: July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: All Coeliccia Species

*As there is no common name, I have used 'Doi Suthep' from the Thai name and given the genus the name 'Sylvan', creating Doi Suthep's Sylvan.

One species I had often dreamt about and even looked for it at Phu Hin Rong Kla in hope... but never saw it was Coeliccia doisuthepensis. During a recent trip to Chiang Mai with Noppadon Makbun, we visited an area that is known to have the species amongst others. Sadly, like most other species, it didn't show as it was really dull and breezy. Suddenly, Noppadon pointed out a female in a real darkened area and a spent an age trying to get good shots, and they turned out OK. Then suddenly as I was walking up, I saw a male. It flew about 10 metres away from me and landed on a leaf that was constantly shaking from the breeze. I fired off a few shots but it very quickly became skittish and flew higher and higher up... and... gone. And that was it. I really was expecting it to be quite easy to shoot but nope. Another species I have to return to Chiang Mai to get improvement shots.

The Male

The male is similar to other species in the genus but S9-10 are orange. There are also more markings present on the thorax. These were the best I could do on a windy day before it flew away.

The Female

Similar to most females in the genus, this one differs slightly due to the yellowish markings at the end of the abdomen.

I will return one day for better shots.

251: Anax nigrofasciatus nigrolineatus Fraser, 1935

Number: 251 / Family: Aeschnidae / Genus: Anax

Species: Anax nigrofasciatus nigrolineatus / Blue-spotted Emperor

Province(s) sighted: Chiang Mai

Habitat: Forested Ponds

In flight: July / Sightings (by me): Rare

Species easily confused with: All Anax Species

On a trip to Chiang Mai with Noppadon Makbun back in 2024 turned out to be a great trip. And one species that hadn't even crossed my mind made an appearance. However, at an uplands pond on a rather dull day an Anax came out to play zooming around very quickly around the edges of the pond. Noppadon pointed out quickly that it was Anax nigrofasciatus nigrolineatus as it is the only one that shows in the area. Excited, I put on the 400mm lens and did my best to get a shot but they turned out to be terrible! That said, you can tell it is that species (very pale and small spots). But I must return one day in the future to chance my arm again and maybe on a slightly sunnier day when it may stay out longer.

The Male

Very typical Anax appearance but has small pale spots along the abdomen. Shame about the minging photo!

Many thanks to Noppadon for pointing out this species! Apologies once more for the terrible photo!

Friday, April 3, 2026

Big Update to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Thailand Blog

Dragonflies of Thailand is Back in 2026

Hi, guys. Just a quick update on the blog. If anyone still uses this blog as a reference site for the dragonflies and damselflies of Thailand, enjoy dragonflies or just like some of the pictures, you will be happy to know that there has been a massive update recently. I have worked really hard to update everything over the past week or so to drag it back to 2026. This has included 30-odd new species for my records (more to come), updating all name changes, removing a few that, well, don't exist anymore and updating my own photos with a massive vault of new ones with many, many improvement shots. I am even trying to update the common name of species in Thailand, but that is for another page.

Not Getting Out Much

Though I am still very much living in Thailand, I haven't been getting out anywhere near as much as I'd like to over the past few years, but other commitments have put paid to that. I have been on a few great trips though over the past couple of years that has included Chiang Mai and a mammoth two-week trip to the deep south taking in Narathiwat, Yala and Songkhla. That was a real experience and I will create a few posts on these soon (though most of the species are on already).

The Future of This Blog

I have no idea if Blogspot.com is going to keep going forever but while it remains free and still in operation, I will too... I will keep on with the updates and hope that it helps in some way when you are looking to ID any species. If Blogspot is still alive in 10 years... and I am too, then so will this blog. Keep on searching for dragonflies and I hope you find many great species. Cheers, Dennis.