Most species of petalurid dragonflies have a fossorial larval stage, which is unique in the Odonata. Larvae typically excavate burrows in soft peaty soils in mires, seepages or along stream margins, which are occupied by a single larva throughout the long larval stage. This paper reports on a study of burrow morphology in Petalura gigantea,…
A new species, Heteragrion cyane sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on one ♂ collected in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The new species is remarkable for its blue color, a rare character within the species of group A Heteragrion.
The present study provides the first odonate survey for the Brazilian Caatinga, including species habitat information. Specimens were collected during five days in both dry and rainy seasons of 2011 in the municipality of Itatira, state of Ceará, located in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. Adult individuals of 37 species were documented, the highest…
Three species of Phoenicagrion are known from the north-eastern Amazonian part of Peru: P. flammeum, P. paulsoni, and a third undescribed species. In 2009 and 2010 several specimens of this third species were collected in Loreto, making it possible to describe this species, here named Phoenicagrion trilobum (holotype ♂: Peru, Loreto department, Tahuayo River, 18 km E…
The finnal stadium larva of Periaeschna zhangzhouensis Xu is described and illustrated for the first time. The taxonomic characters of the larvae of the genus Periaeschna Martin are discussed and summarized.
The reproductive behaviour of the damselfly Neurobasis chinensis (Calopterygidae) was filmed at 300 and 600 frames per second in Thailand in spring 2009. This was subsequently viewed in slow motion for detailed analysis. Altogether we observed 26 matings at two different sites. Besides visual observations of behaviour of male–female encounters at the reproductive sites, we…
Food intake rate and diet composition have a high impact on all organisms and affect individual fitness, fecundity and mortality. Specimens in enclosures have to be fed in an adequate way and with minimum stress for the specimens. Adult dragonflies are flying hunters. In enclosures, they are usually fed by adding different kinds of adult…
Assessment of conservation status is a necessary step before management plans can be formulated. Historically such assessments have a strong bias toward vertebrates, particularly endothermic terrestrial vertebrates (i.e. birds and mammals). Invertebrates, by contrast, tend to be ignored, and many insect groups, despite being species rich and reasonably well studied, such as the Odonata (damselflies…
Four new species of Palaiargia from New Guinea, P. benkeni, P. clarillii, P. quandti and P. tydecksjuerging, are described and figured. Maps are provided of the known distributions of all species of the genus which occurs in the Moluccas and on the main island of New Guinea. Previous unpublished records are provided for P. carnifex,…
Peristicta guarellae sp. nov. (holotype: Brazil, Paraná State, Exc. 399/col. 3, stream in km 50 of Curitiba-Ponta Grossa route [BR 376], about 25°20′08″ S, 49°51′15″ W, 21 November 1971, N. D. Santos leg., deposited in the Collection of “Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro”, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is described and illustrated. An