The behaviour of Anisoptera during the period between emergence and the onset of sexual activity is poorly known, mainly because freshly emerged adults are hard to follow. In the present study the system RECCO® Transmitter/Receiver and custombuilt tags made from Schottky diodes and copper wire were used to monitor freshly emerged Anisoptera. The system had…
The name-bearing types of Odonata held in the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, with systematic notes on Afrotropical taxa. Part 1: introduction and Anisoptera
Orthographic details of 118 name-bearing types of Odonata are provided in two parts: the first and present paper deals with Anisoptera, the second with Zygoptera. 58 types pertain to good species, although the taxonomy of at least four is problematic. The details of 11 ‘holotypes’ of forms are also provided, although these and their names…
Structure, function and evolution of the ‘glans’ of the anisopteran vesica spermalis (Odonata)
Comparative investigations of the distal part of the vesica spermalis (‘glans’) of the anisopteran male secondary copulatory apparatus reveal three different ‘solutions’ of combining the emptying-mechanism of the sperm-reservoir with a ‘washing out’ of sperm of the male predecessor. The responsible apparatus of the glans—actually driven by pressure-changes inside the erectile organ, which is a…
Odonata of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, part II: Anisoptera
Taxonomic and faunistic information is provided on the Anisoptera of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The genus Atratothemis is established to receive a newly discovered libellulid species A. reelsi sp. nov. belonging to the subfamily Pantalinae. Oligoaeschna aquilonaris sp. nov., Periaeschna rotunda sp. nov., Petaliaeschna gerrhon sp. nov. and Asiagomphus giza sp. nov. are described.
Ballistic defaecation by anisopteran larvae (Odonata): a way to increase foraging success?
The article considers the phenomenon of ballistic defaecation by odonate larvae, exhibited by certain Anisoptera but not by any Zygoptera, and explores two possibilities: (1) that ballistic defaecation in Anisoptera may correlate with increased foraging success (the ‘Wudkevich Hypothesis’) by distancing the prey’s alarm pheromone, persisting in the pellet after defaecation, from the larva’s ambush…
Description of Gynacantha andamanae, spec. nov. from South Andaman Island, Indian Ocean (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae)
Gynacantha andamanae, [Yeh & Veenakumari] sp. nov. collected from Mt Harriet in South Andaman Island of Indian Ocean, is described and figured. The relationship of the new species with its oriental congeners is discussed.
The first recorded arrival of Anax junius, Drury (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae) in Europe: A scientist’s perspective
In September and October 1998 adults of Anax junius, (Common Green Darner) were encountered in small numbers at coastal sites in southwestern U.K. Circumstantial evidence supports the inference that they reached there on winds originating from New Brunswick and Quebec Canada in early September, a time when this species regularly migrates southwards along the Atlantic…
Description of the final-instar larva of Notiothemis robertsi Fraser, 1944 (Anisoptera: Libellulidae)
This paper is dedicated to Philip S. Corbet on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Gynacantha corbeti spec. nov., a new dragonfly from West Malaysia (Anisoptera: Aeschnidae)
This paper is dedicated to Philip S. Corbet on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Orthetrum julia falsum Longfield 1955, new to the dragonfly fauna of Yemen and the Arabian Penunsula (Anisoptera: Libellulidae)
Orthetrum julia (Kirby 1900), subspecies falsum Longfield 1955, is reported for the first time from Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula (1 male, Wadi al-Ahjar, 15°27’53″N 43°52’32″E). The specimen is described and compared with specimens from Africa; taxonomically relevant structures are figured. The total number of species known from Yemen is raised to 37, from the…