To resolve a prevailing nomenclatorial confusion present in the genus Aciagrion, A. tillyardi Laidlaw, 1919 is placed in synonymy of A. approximans (Selys, 1876). The neotype of “Pseudagrion approximans”, a male specimen from Khasi Hills preserved in Coll. Selys Longchamps at RBINS, is designated to replace the lost holotype, which was an incomplete specimen of…
Behavioral data on Neotropical coenagrionids is still scanty, with very few studies on their reproductive behavior. Here we present the first description of the reproductive behavior of A. truncatum in a high density population in the Brazilian Neotropical savanna. The observations were made at a pond in an ecological reserve. Males remain at the water…
In Venezuela, the “metallic group” includes three species: Argia cupraurea Calvert, Argia jocosa Hagen in Selys, and Argia orichalcea Hagen in Selys. These are here diagnosed and illustrated, and their distribution in Venezuela is mapped. The larva of A. jocosa differs from the few other known larvae of the group in details of the prementum,…
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.
Clutch size is an important fitness component often quantified artificially by inducing oviposition in libellulid females. Female behavior and egg production of the yellow-veined skimmer, Orthetrum nitidinerve, were studied in northeast Algeria during its reproductive season. Data on reproductive behavior and biology of this Mediterranean endemic species has not been published previously. Males guarded territories…
The final stadium larva of Leptogomphus elegans Lieftinck is described and illustrated for the first time. The taxonomic characters of the larvae of the genus Leptogomphus Selys are discussed and summarized.
Oviposition behaviour by Sympetrum frequens, a species endemic to Japan, has been observed throughout its entire breeding season, which extended for about one month after the harvest of rice. Approximately 50% of oviposition events occurred during the first week of the reproduction period. Sunny oviposition sites were preferentially selected by ovipositing pairs. The starting time…
Oviposition site selection is crucial in the life history of odonates since females must find a suitable habitat to enhance larval survival and development. Males perch at these sites to get access to females to mate. Here we studied how different types of vegetation influence site selection of the damselfly Oxyagrion microstigma in a Neotropical…
Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided of the ultimate instar larvae of Argia medullaris and Argia variegata from Colombia. The principal features are outlined and compared with other species. Argia medullaris differs from other species of the genus by the parallel width of the lateral gills and prominent ligula; the A. variegata larva can be…
It recently was suggested that family-group names derived from the names of Selys’ legions are not valid. I state why I believe this view is mistaken and I argue that, even if it were not, nomenclatural stability in Odonata can be better served by the preservation of these names than by their overturn.