Odonata flight performance capabilities and behaviour and their body and wing form diversity are explored, and their interrelationships discussed theoretically and from observational evidence. Overall size and particularly wing loading appear predictably to be related to speed range. In Anisoptera at least, relatively short bodies and long wings should favour high speed manoeuvrability, though further…
Very little is known about the biology of larval odonates from the Neotropical region, and in particular there are no data on behavioral changes during ontogeny and growth ratios, though both are crucial to understanding the dynamics of Odonata communities. Here we study growth ratio, development patterns and behavior of Rhionaeschna marchali larvae. We characterized…
Genetically determined color polymorphisms have a long history in the study of evolutionary change acting on populations. The Odonata exhibit relatively high levels of sex-specific color polymorphisms in mature adults. In Ischnura and Coenagrion, female-specific polymorphisms are known to be controlled by Mendelian genes. Nearly half of Enallagma species have polymorphic females, but the inheritance…
Female-limited colour polymorphisms are widespread in Odonata, usually showing an androchrome and one or more gynochromes. Androchromes have been hypothesized to function as male mimics with a consequent decrease of male harassment, although males may also learn to recognize the different female colour morphs. In the Eurasian damselfly Lestes sponsa, the occurrence of two female…
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…
Progomphus obscurus is one of the most abundant dragonflies in South Carolina, USA. We collected dragonfly larvae from 127 sites in the Enoree River and nine of its tributaries, and correlated the abundance of P. obscurus larvae with physical and chemical characteristics of these streams. As expected for this burrowing species, larval abundance varied among…
The larva of Megaloprepus caerulatus is described and illustrated from specimens collected near the northern border of Barbilla National Park on the Costa Rican Caribbean slope. Habits and characters of larvae of three different size classes obtained from artificial tree holes permit the identification of small (body length 4 mm, excluding the caudal lamellae) larvae…