Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) are often used as indicators of habitat type and quality due to their varied use of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Species differ in their preferences for lotic and lentic waters, but community changes across ecotones, or transitional zones between distinct habitats (e.g. lotic and lentic), are not well understood. We quantified dragonfly…
Trueman and Rowe (2019) claimed that they have finally solved the wing venation homologies for the Odonatoptera, refuting the previous models, and especially that of Riek and Kukalová-Peck (1984). Nevertheless, their proposal has several failures, viz. nature of the distal part of their “anal vein”, nature of the “MA”, and incongruence with recent results obtained…
This study investigated the biological water quality and Odonata assemblages in three waterbodies in Ilara-Mokin, with the aim of determining the ecological integrity of the ecosystems. Sampling of Odonata specimens was carried out over April–August, 2017 between 9.00am and 4.00pm under favourable conditions. Some physico-chemical parameters of the water such as dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity,…
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…
The final instar of Remartinia luteipennis luteipennis (Burmeister, 1839) is described and illustrated based on reared specimens from Salta Province, Argentina. It is compared with R. secreta and R. l. florida, and with Calvert’s original description of R. l. luteipennis. Remartinia l. luteipennis can be differentiated by the length of the lateral valvae of the…
Existing nomenclatures for the venation of the odonate wing are inconsistent and inaccurate. We offer a new scheme, based on the evolution and ontogeny of the insect wing and on the physical structure of wing veins, in which the veins of dragonflies and damselflies are fully reconciled with those of the other winged orders. Our
A new species, Noguchiphaea laotica, is described based on specimens from Lon San, Saysomboun Province, Laos. The holotype male and a paratype female are deposited in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. This new species is allied to N. yoshikoae from northern Thailand, but differs from it in the morphology of the male…
The representatives of the damselfly family Pseudostigmatidae are known for their ability to catch small orb web spiders, or in some cases small kleptoparasitic spiders in the webs of other spiders. In this paper, I demonstrate that the nanoscopic crystalline wax coverage of wings in the pseudostigmatid damselfly Mecistogaster ornata is partially altered due to…
Dragonflies and damselflies (the Odonata) are among the most efficient flying insects. However, fragmentation of the landscape can increase distance between habitats and affect costs of dispersal, thus shaping phenotypic patterns of flight-related traits, such as wing shape, wing loading and wing size. Urban landscapes are highly fragmented, which limits dispersal among aquatic habitats. Hence,
For the first time water dipping behaviour of Calopteryx during threatening flight is reported. Four males of Calopteryx virgo in a small rivulet coming from a spring pool in SW France involved in threatening flights near an opponent dipped a wing into the water, producing conspicuous water rings. One male did this twice and additionally…