Mnais andersoni

Scientific name: Mnais andersoni McLachlan in Selys, 1873

Family: Calopterygidae

Thai name: แมลงปอเข็มน้ำตกใหญ่ท้องขาว, แมลงปอเข็มน้ำตกก้นขาว

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When I walked along the small stream near headquarters of Doi Inthanon national park in February this year, I found a group of large damselflies with hyaline and orange wings flying and perching around the shrub near the stream. It's very beautiful scene and, of course, it isn't like the calopterygid species I've ever seen before. That's my first time to see Mnais andersoni.

female

Because of dimorphic forms of the male, hyaline and orange wings, some odonatologist once considered them as different species; M. andersoni for hyaline-winged one and M. earnshawi for orange-winged one.

male

At Siriphume waterfall, I spotted this species all around and, among them, also sighted other calopterygids including Mnais yunosukei and Vestalis s. smaragdina. Mnais andersoni is a northern montane species. You can see it in February to July.