In the nineteenth century Edmond de Selys Longchamps added watercolours, drawings and notes to his extensive collection of dragonfly and damselfly specimens. The majority of illustrations were executed by Selys and Guillaume Severin. The watercolour collection is currently part of the collection of the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels. This previously unpublished…
In the temperate zone, male perch height of co-occurring dragonfly species (Odonata: Libellulidae) often correlates with species body size. I tested for this relationship in a guild of tropical dragonflies at a wetland at La Selva Biological Station, Heredia, Costa Rica. Males of 12 species were observed perching in January–February 2016. Mean male perch height…
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…
In many species of damselflies, sexual conflict in the form of male harassment is thought to explain the widespread existence of female-limited color polymorphisms. With a few exceptions, the majority of investigations into these mating systems have assumed that male damselflies primarily use visual cues to detect and recognize their mates. Recently, laboratory studies have…
The insects of the order Odonata have an aquatic larval stage and land-dwelling adults. These insects play an important role in aquatic ecosystems and are excellent bioindicators. The present study was based on a scientometric analysis of the research available on the Odonata, which aimed to identify the principal trends and gaps in the database…
The Odonata from the Refúgio Estadual da Vida Silvestre do Rio Pandeiros (RVSP), located in the Cerrado domain, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were rapidly surveyed. Sampling efforts were undertaken along the Rio Pandeiros margins during four sampling periods between the rainy (spring–summer) and dry seasons (autumn–winter) from July 2014 to April 2015. We sampled 97…
Although a full life cycle approach is optimally needed to make conservation decisions, the egg stage is often neglected for insect species of special conservation interest. Water management and related abiotic factors are relevant factors to consider in aquatic species. Lestes macrostigma is a threatened damselfly restricted to temporary brackish waters. Here we provide detailed…
The larva of the genus Mesopodagrion was identified with the help of DNA barcoding and described for the first time. The larvae have flat horizontal gills resembling those of Argiolestidae but the adults lack setae on the shaft of the genital ligula. Molecular data are shown to be useful and necessary in larval identification and…
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…
After observing the presence of Phylloicus pulchrus (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae) and tadpoles of Leptodactylus albilabris (Anura: Leptodactylidae) on submerged leaves with recently laid eggs of Telebasis vulnerata (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), we set up an experiment to determine if they were consuming Odonata eggs. We collected leaves from the stream, where consumers were positioned over egg masses, and…