Tropical America is currently experiencing the establishment of a new apex insect predator, the Paleotropical dragonfly Hemianax ephippiger (Odonata: Aeshnidae). H. ephippiger is migratory and is suggested to have colonised the eastern Neotropics by chance Trans-Atlantic displacement. We report the discovery of H. ephippiger at three new locations in the Caribbean, the islands of Bonaire,…
A three-year field study (January 2011–December 2013) of the Odonata of Curaçao, supported by photos and exuvial collections, recorded a total of 21 species from the island, almost doubling its previously known fauna. The lists of Odonata known from Aruba and Bonaire were also updated by specimen and photo records, and 24 species are now…
Urbanization has considerable impacts on stream ecosystems. Streams in urban settings are affected by multiple stressors such as flow modifications and loss of riparian vegetation. The richness and abundance of aquatic insects, such as odonates, directly reflect these alterations and can be used to assess urban impacts on streams.
The large Neotropical zygopterans Megaloprepus caerulatus, Mecistogaster linearis and M. ornata (Pesudostigmatidae) were surveyed during five years, and striking differences in their reproduction patterns were shown: (1) At two study sites in seasonal, tropical semi-dry forests in Pacific Costa Rica, adult M. ornata could be observed throughout the year, occasionally during the dry season up…
The larva of Mecistogaster linearis is described and illustrated from specimens collected within or near the Río Dantas Wildlife Refuge at the north-western border of the Barbilla National Park on the Costa Rican Caribbean slope. Characters of F-0 larvae permit easy separation from Megaloprepus caerulatus, a species coexisting with M. linearis. Diagnostic characters include overall…
The larva of Megaloprepus caerulatus is described and illustrated from specimens collected near the northern border of Barbilla National Park on the Costa Rican Caribbean slope. Habits and characters of larvae of three different size classes obtained from artificial tree holes permit the identification of small (body length 4 mm, excluding the caudal lamellae) larvae…