In the nineteenth century Edmond de Selys Longchamps assembled a collection consisting of watercolours, drawings and notes on Odonata. Most illustrations were based on specimens from his extensive odonate collection and were mainly executed by Selys himself and by Guillaume Severin. These illustrations and notes are presently housed in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural…
Dragonflies and damselflies are hosts to a variety of parasites and pathogens. However, very few studies have investigated which viruses infect dragonflies and damselflies. Here, based on next generation RNA sequencing of RNA from Leucorrhinia dubia (Libellulidae, Anisoptera) and Coenagrion puella (Coenagrionidae, Zygoptera) larvae, data on putative viruses present in odonates are reported. In both…
Our goal was to investigate whether the loss of riparian forests alters the structure of assemblages and populations of dragonflies and damselflies. We tested the hypothesis that the composition of the odonate assemblages found upstream from dams are significantly different from those found downstream of these barriers. To test the hypothesis, we investigated stream sectors…
Most species of petalurid dragonflies have a fossorial larval stage, which is unique in the Odonata. Larvae typically excavate burrows in soft peaty soils in mires, seepages or along stream margins, which are occupied by a single larva throughout the long larval stage. This paper reports on a study of burrow morphology in Petalura gigantea,…
Little is known about the ability of adult dragonfly individuals to survive into or over the winter in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR), a significant biodiversity hotspot in South Africa. Dragonfly species richness and abundance were recorded throughout winter and into spring in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. Several environmental variables were also measured. Individuals of eight…
Slow motion films of fight behaviour of five different species of Odonata were analysed. In all cases biting played a major role. The biting duration depended on the duration of a stable connection between the two opponents. Sitting odonates showed much longer biting than those that were flying. In fights of Anax junius and Calopteryx…
The damselfly species Paracercion melanotum has been found to be the most abundant species in damselfly larval communities on Okinawa-zima Island in southwest Japan. To clarify differential susceptibility to predation, a possible factor affecting relative population densities in larval communities, between Paracercion melanotum and a less common damselfly species, Ischnura senegalensis, laboratory experiments were conducted…
Large numbers of migrating imagos of Anax ephippiger were observed from the end of January to March 2012 at Dakhla Bay, Southern Morocco, in an area where long-lasting fresh and brackish waters are lacking, and thus which is unfavourable for the reproduction of Odonata. This supports well the classical scheme of northward mass migration of…
Although understanding of geographic range shifts of many species in response to global climate change is expanding steadily, little is known about the Himalayan fauna, which in particular is affected by relatively faster warming rates than other parts of the world. Anticipated increases in temperature and changes in hydrological regimes will have significant adverse impacts…
Burmagomphus schneideri sp. nov. (Rung Giong, Kanak commune, K’Bang district, 14° 8′42.05″ N, 108° 36′37.33″ E Gia Lai Province in the southern part of Vietnam, leg. Do, 27 iv 2010, to be deposited in Vietnam National Museum of Nature) is described from the male sex and compared with males of the closely related species B….