We analyse COI sequences of 48 specimens of European Lestes virens (Charpentier) to explore patterns in genetic diversity including subspecific boundaries and potential glacial refugia. Our haplotype network and phylogenetic analyses reveal three distinct groups in Western and Northern Europe.
We explore the genetic diversity and phylogeography of the dragonflies Orthetrum cancellatum and O. coerulescens in Europe based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Orthetrum cancellatum has a clear division between a group comprising Maltese, Italian, and central and northern European populations…
Within Europe, the damselfly Coenagrion hylas has a very limited distribution and is regarded as a vulnerable species. For studying migration and population connectivity in the Central European populations, 10 microsatellite markers were developed for this species.
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 dragonfly genus Ischnura has been the subject of numerous studies and is well studied in Europe and the Middle East. Nevertheless, information on the ecology, habitat preferences and phylogenetic relationships of some species is deficient. One species lacking such data is Ischnura intermedia, a near endemic species of the Middle East, found for the…
Argiagrion leoninum, known only from the female holotype alleged to be West African, is shown to be a junior synonym of the Brazilian species Leptagrion macrurum. Moroagrion danielli, known only from the male holotype thought to be from the Philippines, is a junior synonym of the European Pyrrhosoma nymphula. Argiagrion and Moroagrion were both monotypic…
The East Palaearctic Coenagrion glaciale and C. hylas are characterized by a current disjunct distribution. New data from northern European Russia significantly modify the earlier known pattern of their distribution. The first European records of C. glaciale and a new record of C. hylas west of the Urals are reported from the environs of Pinega…
The biting midge Forcipomyia (Pterobosca) paludis is the only ceratopogonid species known to parasitise Odonata imagines in Europe. In this study, based mainly on the analysis of about 200 photographically documented cases, data on host species, parasite load and undisturbed position on the odonate body were analysed. The list of hitherto known hosts is extended…
The status of the odonate fauna of Europe is fairly well known, but the current IUCN Red List presents only six species out of ca 130, two of which are actually out of danger today. In this paper we propose a tentative list of 22 possibly declining or threatened species in the region. For the…
Microsatellites have been infrequently used for genetic analysis of odonate species. Here, we report four microsatellite loci that are polymorphic in Coenagrion mercuriale. Furthermore, we examine the success of cross-species amplification of a panel of 19 microsatellite loci that were developed from C. mercuriale in seven other European odonate species. PCR with microsatellite primers is…