Polyrhachis bicolor Smith, 1858

Polyrhachis bicolor Smith, 1858 is a wide distributed species, the holotype was collected from Myanmar and deposited in London Museum of Nature History. They now have been recorded from Australia to IndoMalaya Region as well as China. Name of the species maybe express the colors of the ant (bi=two), they are characteristic with dark grey head and thorax and red abdomen and legs.
The species has 9 subspecies: Polyrhachis bicolor atrocastanea, Polyrhachis bicolor aurata, Polyrhachis bicolor aurinasis, Polyrhachis bicolor brachyacantha, Polyrhachis bicolor comata, Polyrhachis bicolor erecta, Polyrhachis bicolor exflavicornis, Polyrhachis bicolor fumata, Polyrhachis bicolor weyeri.

Polyrhachis bicolor Smith, 1858 - photographed by Ta Thanh

Harpegnathos venator (Smith, 1858)

Harpegnathos venator (Smith, 1858) is large size ant, it is the first time the species was recorded for Vietnamese fauna. The species found from India, China, Thailand and also Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo. The holotype of the species is deposited in London Museum of Nature History. In Vietnam, this species was recorded the first time by Nguyen Huu Le Loc from Van Quan, Lang Son Province, North Vietnam.

Harpegnathos venator (Smith, 1858) - photographed by Nguyen Huu Le Loc

Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius, 1775)

Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius, 1775) is a species that found from Asia and Australia.  This is the first time, the genus and species be recorded in Vietnam by a photographer: Ly Phu Tai from Nhon Trach, Dong Nai Province.
The color of the species is vary, red or green. They make the nest on tree by stitching leaves by silk from their larvae.

Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius, 1775) is handing a grasshopper, photographed by Ly Phu Tai

Polyrhachis armata (Le Guillou, 1842)

Polyrhachis armata (Le Guillou, 1842) in an interesting spiny ant species, they found from South East Asia and South China. The species found in Indo-Australia region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines; Oriental region: Cambodia, India, Thailand; Palaearctic region: South China. The type locality of the species is Philippines. Syntype of the species now are deposited in British Museum of Nature History, London. In Vietnam, there has been 11 species of the genus were recorded and this is the 12th member, recorded the first time for Vietnam fauna by a photographers.

Polyrhachis armata (Le Guillou, 1842) - photo taken by Do Hung Tuan

Polyrhachis armata (Le Guillou, 1842) - photo taken by Bui Trong Hieu

Polyrhachis armata (Le Guillou, 1842) - photo taken by Nguyen Thanh Tuan

Polyrhachis armata (Le Guillou, 1842) - photo taken by Ta Thanh

Small insects and spiders on forest leafs of Cuc Phuong National Park

Cuc Phuong is a National Park of North Vietnam, it is one of the most early national parks of the country. It is a low elevation forest and surrounded by limestone range.

It is not very far from Hanoi (about 120km) to the South and the forest in a very good condition. The national park located at border of Thanh Hoa and Ninh Binh Province. There is a tourist system in side of the National Park that you can stay over night, the road system in good condition so you can walk, ride bicycle, motor cycle or drive a car go through the Park without problem. On two sides of the main road, and in a summer days, there are a lot of insects that you can observe or taking photograph. The fauna of Cuc Phuong maybe similar to Ba Vi National Park however because it is a low land forest so it some how difference.

Insect/Spider watching is one of the most interesting thing in Cuc Phuong, however watching of birds, snails or amphibians... also is not bad option.

Zemeros sp. Riodinidae, photographed by Cuong Do 

Heliophorus sp. Lycaenidae, photographed by Cuong Do

Hesperiidae, photographed by Cuong Do

A small and colorful lotus/cricket (orthoptera), photographed by Cuong Do

A small wasp Ichneumonidae with white antenna and long ovipositor, photographed by Cuong Do

Large size ant with yellow metallic body and spiny abdomen, Polyrhachis sp. photographed by Cuong Do 

Funny shape of couple of flies are mating, photographed by Cuong Do

Spiny bug (Valentina hoffmanni, Reduviidae, Hepiptera/Heteroptera), photographed by Cuong Do 

A young bug, the wing not yet appear (Hemiptera/Heteroptera), photographed by Cuong Do

An exuviae of a cicada (Homoptera), photographed by Cuong Do

A small bug, Callitettix versicolor Cercopidae (Homoptera), photographed by Cuong Do 

A tumbling flower beetle, Mordellidae, photographed by Cuong Do

A small weevil, curculionidae beetle, photographed by Cuong Do

Two larva of Lepidoptera with brigten yellow stripes, photographed by Cuong Do

A spiny spider, photographed by Cuong Do

A spider nearly finish its lunch (a larvae), photographed by Cuong Do

A spiny leg spider, Oxyopes sp. (Oxyopidae) photographed by Cuong Do