Freshwater Macroinvertebrates in Hong Kong

Pantala flavescens (Wandering glider)

Habitat: larvae could be found in marshes, ponds or even small tanks like 0.6m wide mesocosms

General appearance: body large sized, up to 25mm long; head with bulbous eyes projecting laterally and posteriorly; legs long, slender with some dark markings, especially on tarsal segments of middle and hind legs; abdomen ovate shaped with some dark dots and cloud-like patterns, having distinctive long lateral spines with black tips on abdominal segements VIII and IX, seems no dorsal spine*; superior epiproct as long as inferior paraprocts (cf. short epiproct, about half length of its paraprocts in Tramea sp.)

* Pantala flavescens is stated without dorsal spine in other ID keys, but I noticed there are two tiny dorsal spines on abdominal segments II - III or III - IV in our specimens.
According to Soltesz K. (1996) Identification to Northeastern Anisoptera Larvae, P. hymenaea has tiny dorsal hooks on segments III - IV; epiproct as long as paraprocts; palpal setae 15 - 18; width of base of lateral spines on segment IX more than 1/3 length of its spine.

Fullview
Fullview
Fullview in ventral view
Head
Head in ventral view
Labium