Rhinocypha fulgipennis Guérin-Méneville, 1831

This species is a colorful wings damselfly that belong to Chlorocyphidae family, the genus name maybe because of its structure of the face with a object that is prominence forms a rhino face shape.

The small species is one of the most early species that was described as a new species for science from Vietnamese fauna of Odonata. The holotype was collected from South Vietnam with note as Cocochina area. Recently, this species has been found also from Cambodia and Laos.

They are very sensitive species that found near that clean running water (waterfalls, streams) of shadowed forests in low land areas. In a quick observation, this species is easy to misidentified with another common species, the species Rhinocypha fenestrella. However they are clearly difference in color and color marking of the wings.

Lateral view of male of Rhinocypha fulgipennis, photographed by Cuong Do

Protosticta khaosoidaoensis Asahina, 1984

This species was described by Asahina from Thailand, the name of the species specifies the locality of holotype.

They are green brow and elongate damselflies with very slim typical abdomen. The head is dark green with shining emerald green compose eyes. The labrum is bright white make it quite remarkable in dark of the forest. The round prothorax is same colour to the labrum in both dorsal and lateral sides. Their synthorax is shining green in dorsal side but it change to red brownish with white or cream yellow marking on lateral sides.  Their wings are hyaline with dark pterostigma, length of the wing is shorter haft of the abdomen. Their legs are dust white brow. The abdomen is round, long and slim with the segments are shining black at apical and white cream at base except two last segments. They are short and thick; the basal one is dull black white the apical one is cream white. The anal appendages of male are black.

This species has the same size to Protosticta santoi but they are difference in color of the body and structure of anal appendages.

The species was found in cleaning running water in pristine forests and distribute from North to South of Vietnam. The larvae of this species usually hide under dead leafs of the water.

They fly in the dark of the forests but never fly far away their breeding sides. Some time they were found at vegetation under waterfalls of rocky mountain in very high humidity condition. They fly slowly above dark vegetation layer just over the ground surface of the forests.

Male of P. khaosoidaoensis, photographed by Cuong Do

Male of P. khaosoidaoensis with bend upward abdomen, photographed by Cuong Do

Teneral female of P. khaosoidaoensis, photographed by Cuong Do

Protosticta satoi (Asahina, 1997)

The first record of the species was made by Asahina in 1997. Based on a single female, which was collected from Tam Dao National Park, Asahina erected the new subspecies Protosticta khaosoidaoensis satoi. Later, in 2008, Van Tol studied specimens collected from Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh Province, Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam and compared them to Protosticta beaumonti Wilson 1997 dark form from Guangxi, China (Wilson & Reels 2003). Based on the material from Cuc Phuong National Park, he concluded that “satoi” is a distinct species, differing from the Thailand species, P. khaosoidaoensis. Van Tol believed it possible that specimens from Cuc Phuong, the female from Tam Dao (Asahina, June 1997) and P. beaumonti Wilson, March 1997 from Hong Kong might belong to the same species but elected to establish P. satoi as a distinct species. It is possible, and perhaps most likely, that the dark form P. beaumonti from Guangxi sensu Wilson & Reels 2003 is indeed distinct from P. beaumonti Wilson, 1997 and is synonymous with P. satoi (Asahina, 1997).

It is small size Protosticta damselfly with tiny body and dark colour. The head is black with dark green compose eyes. The prothorax is nearly entry cream white, while the synthorax is mostly shining green black except two cream white markings at the border next to the abdomen and below the hind wings. All of the basal segments of three legs are cream-white, the femurs as well as tibias are also cream-white but darker. The wings are hyaline, little bit more than or proximal haft of the abdomen, with dark brown pterostigmas. The abdomen is dark brown with cream yellow or white markings; the 9^th segment is cream white. The anal appendages are dark brown. Male and female of the species are quite similar.

They are found at clean, running streams in good forests of high mountain area, the elevation is about more than 700m. The flying forms usually live very near the breeding sites with high humidity. Similar to other members of the family, they are slow flying insects and hide in shade of the forests.

 
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Emerging of Protosticta satoi, photographed by Cuong Do, the processing happens at a forest stream in Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province

Atrocalopteryx auco Hamalainen, 2014

The species is described this year (2014) by Matti Hamalainen despite of the fact that we have seen it flying in nature since 2008.

In the field trip to Huu Lien, Lang Son Province, North Vietnam with the species author for finding Echo maxina, I saw that species in a source of the stream that I collected the species Nihonogomphus schorri. This is the third undescribed species be known to science in trips of Echo maxima, in Huu Lien, Lang Son (see the topic Trips of finding Echo maxima Martin, 1904, mystery of mysteries).

It is interesting that this unknown species be in Matti's collection quite long time but it only be focused since a fellow (Sebastien Delonglee) sent the author its photos from Huu Lien in 2013. In my photo gallery, I keep the photos in two separated folders: males in A. atrocyana and the female in A. coomani folders. I remember that I did take photos of the species among bamboos near the deep and clear stream that runs directly from limestone mountain. 

Matti Hamalainen as being informing the photos from Sebastien then found that it belong a distinguish species that difference from all known species then he described the species under the name: A. auco. He wrote in the etymological part of the description: "The species epithet auco is named after Âu Cơ, a character in the Vietnamese mythology. Âu Cơ was a young, beautiful mountain fairy who fell in love with Lạc Long Quân (the Dragon Lord of Lac). They married and she gave birth to an egg sac from which hatched a hundred children known collectively as the Bach Viet, the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. Âu Cơ is widely honoured as the mother of Vietnamese civilization." 

Before deciding the name of the species, Matti emailed to me about his idea of the name of the species and I did full agree with his very interesting idea, the colorful wings of this group matches very well to Âu Cơ, who is a pretty girl and she is well known to any Vietnamese people and this will make the species to be more familial to Vietnamese.

Male of A. auco (on a bamboo leaf above) photographed by Cuong Do, same date to the holotype in Huu Lien, Lang Son Province

Female of A. auco (among bamboos) with white pseudo-pterostigma that make I misidentified it to be A. coomani, photographed by Cuong Do, same date to the holotype in Huu Lien, Lang Son Province

Orolestes octomaculatus Martin, 1902

R. Martin described this species in 1902, its name specify eight dark spots on two pairs of wings (octo = eight, maculatus = spots). It is a medium-large sized damselfly and like other lestid, it opens the wings at rest. Though being quite large, the species is elongate with a long abdomen. The body is greenish with somehow yellowish marking. Last segments of the abdomen are blue on dorsum. Male and female of the species are dimorphism. The wings of male are hyaline with two distinct dark spots on each, these characteristics are absent in female individuals. However, wings of teneral males some time are hyaline. They inhabit in unshaded dust still waters (ground pools) in lowland forests. They fly weakly and hide in bushes or vegetations above water surface about 1-2m high.

Male in dorsal view, photographed by Cuong Do, Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai Province

Male in lateral view, photographed by Cuong Do, Cat Tien National Park, Dong Nai Province

Rhinagrion hainanensis Wilson and Reels, 2001

This species was described based on the male holotype that collected from Hainan. Latter the female and its larvae was described in detail by Sasamoto et al. in 2011. The species R. yokoii Sasamotoi, 2003 was found from Laos is synonym of this species. It is the second species of the genus that found in Vietnam, the other is R. mima which was found from other South East Asian countries and in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam as well. 

A medium-small sized damselfly, this species has colourful body with black, cream-emerald, cream-yellowish, turquoise, red-brown and brick-red marking. The head is narrower in width than it of other later damselflies with three ocelli are quite big and close together. The face is unmistakeable with two lateral cream-emerald markings. The thorax is colourful; the dorsum of the synthorax is black with two big cream-yellowish markings while in lateral view, the thorax is change from red-brown to cream-turquoise with black markings. In ventral view, the synthorax and inner side of femora are light-turquoise. The dorsal abdomen segments are red dark brown with cream-yellowish and dark-turquoise marking. Remarkably, at ventral view, the sixth to eighth segments are bright brick-red while they are light orange in the ninth and tenth segments. Their wings are petiolate, hyaline and alway in horizontal position at rest. 

They live in clean, swift and shallow streams in good humid forests of the centre of Vietnam. The colourful body makes the species to be brightening in any views: dorsal, lateral or ventral. They are weak flied insects and usually hide in vegetations that hanging over the water.

Male, lateral view, photographed by Cuong Do, Phu Yen provine

Close up face of male, photographed by Cuong Do, Phu Yen Province

Rhipidolestes owadai Asahina, 1997

This species was described the first time based on specimens from Tam Dao National Park, by Asahina in 1997. Recently, it has been known that very common locally in pristine forests of North Mountain in Vietnam. 

A small medium size damselfly, the body is deep black with cream yellow marking. Males and females are similar. The head with distinct cream yellow face. The thorax is very typical with two cream yellow strips in lateral view. Of which, the anterior strip continues from synthorax to prothorax. The wings are petiolated and always open at rest. The legs are red brown; with base of femur is cream yellow. There is a spin on dorsal side of 10th segment of the male abdomen. 

The damselfly is found in pristine forests of High Mountain with elevation about 1000 m. The females fly far from their breeding sites while the males usually guard their territory where are humid streams in dark forests. However, they are weakly flying insects; often hide themselves in dark of canopy or in side vegetation of the forests. 

Male, photographed by Cuong Do, Tam Dao

Female, photographed by Cuong Do, Tam Dao

Noguchiphaea yoshikoae Asahina, 1976

Asahina (1976) described a new calopterygid genus Noguchiphaea based on two male specimens of N. yoshikoae Asahina, 1976 from Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai Province in the northern part of Thailand. Subsequently Asahina (1981) described the female of this species, which was collected in the same area - Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai - as the type, and provided additional characters for the genus. In a third paper, Asahina (1985) described further characters of both sexes and considered N. yoshikoae as endemic to Thailand.

Recently, the species has been found in north of Vietnam, Tam Dao National Park and Xuan Son National Park. This is a small-medium sized damselfly; the head and body are metallic green with cream-yellow patches on lower synthorax. As well as it of the female, the male prothorax has distinct structure dorsal posterior lobe. The inferior anal appendages are undeveloped in the male. The wings are hyaline with apical fade spot and both fore and hind wings are petiolate at very base. They fly in the end of rain season in good forests of high mountains and do not live far from the breeding sites. They are weak flying insects and usually perch on vegetations near clean running water.

Male, photographed by Cuong Do, Tam Dao National Park

Female, photographed by Cuong Do, Tam Dao National Park

Neurobasis chinensis (Linnaeus, 1758)

This is quite common Asian species and is one of the earliest known species of dragonfly. It was named by Linnae based on a picture in book cover of bird. And because in the picture the specimen was drawn with the wings in horizontal position, this species formerly was put in Anisoptera suborder by Linnae. Name of species is specified its locality, from China.

The medium sized damselfly, this species has shining green body and hind-wing is metallic green. The head, thorax and abdomen of the male are metallic green while female has fader green body. The wings of the male distinguish from them of the female. Female’s fore-wing has a white spot at pterosigma position – psedopterostigma, while male’s fore-wings are dust yellowish hyaline and instead of psedopterostigma, there is a white spot at nodus position. The hind-wings of female are shinning colorful, metallic green with an apical black patch on upper side and they are quite dust yellowish hyaline in female.

They are very active damselflies, and live at open swift streams from low to high lands. They never fly far from their breeding habitat; males are strict in territorial defense by showing their flash metallic green hind-wings. Males fly very close to the water surface while females usually perch on vegetations nearby. In courtship flying, males usually keep the hind-wing open in horizontal position to show the flash green upper surface of the wings under sunshine. Sometime males just clap their hind-wings as resting and the action is signal to other males in territorial informing or to coming females for mating. Females insert their eggs into aqua vegetation tissue; in many cases, female sinks in the water during the oviposition while the male around.

Male, photographed by Cuong Do, Ba Vi

Male, photographed by Cuong Do, Pioac Nature Reserve, Cao Bang Province

Male, showing his hind wing in opened position, photographed by Cuong Do, Hon Ba Nature Reserve, Khanh Hoa Province

Atrocalopteryx laosica Fraser, 1933

Species name is specified the locality of holotype which was recorded from Laos.

                                               

A large size damselfly, the body is shining metallic green. The legs are slim with long spin rows. In the sunlight, the body reflects from metallic red-green to blue-green in colour. Two pairs of wing always fold up above the abdomen; they are red-black and darker than those of Atrocalopteryx coomani. The abdomen is somehow flattened in dorsal-ventral side.

The mature forms fly at opened but clear streams with rich of oxygen on highlands of west-north of Vietnam. The damselflies usually appear from middle to the end of rain season with high humidity. They are not very active insects and often perch on vegetation near the water.

Male, photographed by Cuong Do, Lao Cai

Calopteryx coomani (Fraser, 1935)

This species was described by R. Martin in 1904 base on the specimens collected from Tonkin, Vietnam.

A large size damselfly, it is shining metallic green with two pairs of dark colour wings. The head, thorax and abdomen are green metallic, the legs are delegate and spiny, the middle and hind tibia are curve. The wings are dark, the colour is same in both sides, the wings are not unicolour, and remarkably there is a large basal anal patch hyaline in forewings. The forewings of females have a white spot at pterostigma position and it is called psedopterostigma.

They are live at clean streams in pristine forests on high limestone mountains of North Vietnam. The mature forms fly during the rain season and they live in shade area with high humidity. Occasionally, males perch in the sunlight with the wings folded along the abdomen and show their shining metallic green body. They are not so active and usually fly weakly among branches of vegetations near the breeding sites. 

Male, Tam Dao National Parck, photographed by Cuong Do

Female with the white spot on her wings, Tam Dao National Park, photographed by Cuong Do