Notes on the collection and transportation of live Epiophlebia laidlawi Tillyard larvae (Anisozygoptera: Epiophlebiidae)

I arrived in Nepal 27th May 1996 for a very limited stay of one week, the main aim of the visit was to search for E. laidlawi around Phelping near the Tibetan border following information that it had been found in that area (G. Vick and S. Sharma, pers. comm ). The Bhotekosi river itself did not appear suitable, being wide, rather deep and swollen with glacial melt water. Having discovered larvae of E. superstes in Japan and surveyed for E. laidlawi on a previous occasion, I chose to investigate a 5 m wide tributary flowing eastwards into the Bhotekosi just N of the bridge at Phelping. This looked torrential enough to be suitable and after several minutes my taxi driver caught a very dark larva of the species (probably F-2). I then obtained a very small, brightly coloured but dead larva, almost certainly newly moulted and unable to withstand the trauma of being collected in this manner. Despite a further four hours of careful searching no other specimens were obtained from this stream and I relumed to Kathmandu.