The last instar larva of Calopteryx exul Sélys is described and illustrated based on larvae collected from the Seybouse River (northeast Algeria) and reared in the laboratory. A comparative analysis of three other congeneric species is presented.
Calopteryx maculata has become a model system for studying behaviour and reproduction in odonates. Its iridescent coloration is thought to be important in intraspecific interactions but no study has yet measured coloration in a quantitative manner. In a recent study, Fitzstephens & Getty (2000. Animal Behaviour 60: 851-855) showed that lipld levels predict coloration as…
In this study we use high resolution SEM to describe the diversity of wax crystals and their distribution on different morphological structures in male individuals of Calopteryx splendens. The entire cuticle surface of this damselfly, with the exception of ommatidia and ocelli, is covered with crystalline wax in dimensions from submicron to micron range. It…
In high densities males of Calopteryx splendens showed alternative reproductive behaviour at the river Oker in northern Germany. One of several tactics was to pursue females. Pursuing flight was filmed in summer 2006 in slow motion. Frame by frame analysis showed that males fly in irregular flight patterns: they showed different lengths of wing beat…
The distribution of an isolated population of adult Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis was studied along a small stream in NE Spain, during two-week or three-week summer periods over five years. Distribution patterns differed consistently between age groups. Reproductive activities took place along the entire stream, whereas the presence of tenerals and older immature individuals was restricted to…
Small sweep-net samples of larvae of Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis, obtained during five consecutive years from a permanent stream in the Sierra Morena Mountains, southern Spain, were combined according to month to infer the voltinism during the study period. Detailed records of head width, wing-sheath length and metamorphosis status for individual larvae are consistent with the population…
The effect of copulation and presence of predators on territorial behaviour of male Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis (in southern France) and of male C. splendens splendens (in northern Germany) was studied in nature. A male obtaining a copulation early in the day often secured more copulations later that day than did males not obtaining an early copulation….
This paper is dedicated to Philip S. Corbet on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
The post-copulatory behaviour of Calopteryx splendens females was studied under field and laboratory conditions. After termination of copulation females usually perch and bend the abdomen so that its apex touches the ground (post-copulatory posture). The post-copulatory posture is a consequence of sperm removal by males. Male and female microstructures (spines and scales) interact to move…
The Levant is a hot spot of biodiversity, even for Odonata. Approximately 90 Odonata species were recorded for the Levant and 48 from Lebanon. Lebanon, as a central part of the Levant, was visited in 2022 and 2023 for searching dragonflies.