Palaiargia stellata

Male : Palaiargia stellata is a medium-sized blue-and-black species lacking pale postocular spots. The head bears a broad pale blue transverse band across the frons, while the synthorax is predominantly black with bright blue markings. The abdomen is mostly black with blue markings on segments 2–6 and the posterior segments. On segment 2, the dorsal blue marking is highly variable, ranging from a single patch to a pair of large oval spots separated by a fine median black line. The blue basal annules on segments 3–6 are usually complete and approximately equal in size. The anal appendages are robust and characteristic, as originally illustrated by Ris and later figured by Lieftinck, providing one of the most reliable characters for species identification. The ventral surface of segments 8–9 is black, while the blue lateral spots on the tergites become narrower toward their bases. Female : The female closely resembles the male in general colour pattern. It was originally described and illustrated by Ris, including the anal appendages, and no substantial differences from the male were noted other than the usual sexual characters.