Female-limited colour polymorphisms are widespread in Odonata, usually showing an androchrome and one or more gynochromes. Androchromes have been hypothesized to function as male mimics with a consequent decrease of male harassment, although males may also learn to recognize the different female colour morphs. In the Eurasian damselfly Lestes sponsa, the occurrence of two female…
Colour polymorphism in female Coenagrion puella: differences in egg shape (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)
The maintenance of female colour polymorphism in coenagrionids is still an open issue. Here we ask if the three different female morphs of Coenagrion puella represent different reproductive traits in terms of clutch and egg size. Therefore clutch size and egg morphometry of the three female colour morphs were examined. We found that female colour…
Ontogenetic colour changes and male polymorphism in Mnais andersoni (Odonata: Calopterygidae)
Colour-based traits are widespread in flying species due to the importance of visual perception in their communication. Ontogenetic colour changes and reversible physiological colours occur in some species and are used as communication signals to conspecifics. The genus Mnais (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae) shows both genetic colour polymorphism and age-related colour changes, making challenging even the identification…
Does wing shape of andromorph females of Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1780) resemble that of males?
Female limited polymorphism consists in the coexistence of two or more female morphs in the same population and is widespread among odonates. Generally, one female morph, the andromorph, resembles males in colour or, sometimes, also in morphology and behaviour, while one or more other morphs, gynomorphs, differ from males. This phenomenon is probably promoted by…
Lifetime mating success, survivorship and synchronized reproduction in the damselfly Ischnura pumilio (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)
This paper is dedicated to Philip S. Corbet on the occasion of his 70th birthday.