Trithemis aurora (Burmeister, 1839)

A clear rocky boulder stream (alt. 300m asl, 60km from Hanoi) with low gradient. A good range of open and rocky lotic habitat species was encountered included Zygonyx iris, Lamelligomphus camelus, Gomphidia krugeri, Euphaea decorata, Euphaea masoni, Aristocypha fenestrella, Trithemis festiva..,  but also more ubiquist species such as Trithemis aurora, Orthetrum glaucum, O. pruinosum. The isolated pools and streamlets surrounded by grass/shrubs at the river margin provided the very attractive libellulid Palpopleura sexmaculata.

 In the genus Trithemis, three species are known  in Vietnam : pallidinervis, festiva and aurora. The latter is the commonest. I've spotted it on numerous occasions at large lakes to tiny pools and from large fast-flowing rivers to streamlets.

 A male. A peculiar characteristic of the many species within this subfamily ‘Trithemistinae’ (Dropwings) is, they  nearly always perched with the wings pointing forwards.

Wow! The first time I saw this species I just couldn’t believe my eyes! I got the same reaction when I first spotted some other winged beauties - but with feathers those ones - of vietnamese forests. 

 It likes to perch on twigs in the the bright sunshine, often in the obelisk position.

Flashy pink and crimson are rare colors in the nature ; that's why this dragonfly has something artificial, unreal...

A very common and great dragonfly to photograph! 

Simply beautiful. That's all I really have to say.

Thorax dull purple with blackish stripes. Wings hyaline, with crimson reticulation and a broad brownish orange fascia at base. 

It also loves big boulders and rocks.

The female has a golden-yellow to light brown body with darker markings that stands in sharp contrast with its male counterpart in deep pink and crimson tones.

Thorax pale olivaceous on sides, darker on dorsum, with similar black stripes as in the male, but much more sharply defined ; in addition, a brownish stripe on mid-dorsal carina, a complete narrow humeral brown stripe and a short lower stripe between humeral suture and the black stripe crossing vesicle, which ascends higher up the sides than in the male.

Wings hyaline, tipped with brown, with a broad amber-yellow patch at base as male.

This medium sized dragonfly is largely ubiquist and opportunistic ; it can be find in both open lentic (pools, ponds...) or lotic (streams, rivers...) habitats.

It is a very widely distributed species, found throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, extending to Japan and south to Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. 
Common in Vietnam - but not in low quality water bodies.