This short communication reports on the warming ability of the damselfly Sympecma paedisca, which is known for its winter hibernation and tolerance to low temperatures. The data were collected using an infrared camera in late September on two sunny days (air temperature 15–17°C) in the vicinity of Kyiv, Central Ukraine. The obtained data show that…
Oviposition of Sympecma paedisca was observed in eastern Kazakstan. The main oviposition substrates were living Phragmites leaves. In comparison with European and Japanese populations we propose geographic variation in the proportional use of horizontal versus vertical oviposition substrates. Ovipositing females seemed to avoid the inner parts of Phragmites stands and there was a preference for…
We reconstruct a phylogenetic framework for the zygopteran family Lestidae based on a molecular dataset comprised of sequence data from the genes COI, 16S, 18S, 28S, and ITS1+2 from 41 ingroup taxa and 8 outgroup taxa with emphasis on the systematic position of the genus Chalcolestes Kennedy.
Lestidae is a heterogeneous family with more than 150 species worldwide. There are many debates concerning its resolution. One of them is whether the genus Chalcolestes should be recognized as a genus or considered as a synonym of Lestes. We compared male characteristics of eight Hungarian species of three genera (Lestes, Chalcolestes and Sympecma) of…
The subfamily Argiolestinae is raised to family level to include all zygopteran genera in which the gills of the larvae are flat and held in a horizontal plane. A diagnosis of the family is given and characters for both adults and larvae are presented. The family is divided into two subfamilies based on characters in…
When comparing the phenology of species within the family Lestidae in Numidia, northeastern Algeria, we found that: (1) four of five species—Lestes barbarus, L. numidicus, L. viridis, and Sympecma fusca—feature a prolonged pre-reproductive period approaching five (Lestes spp.) or eight months (S. fusca); (2) adults of L. numidicus, and probably of S. fusca, move to…