Brachythemis leucosticta was found to include two morphotypes, which we consider to represent separate species. Males are separable by the ventral structure of S8 and often differ in the colour of the venation and genital lobe. Females are as yet not reliably distinguishable. Examination of 1,154 males demonstrated that both species are widespread: the true…
Libellago corbeti sp. nov. (holotype ♂: Sri Lanka, Ratnapura District, near Kudawe, 6.26°N, 80.25°E, 03 vii 2007, to be deposited in the Sri Lanka National Museum, Colombo) is described and figured. Its phenotype does not resemble that of any other Libellago species. Habitat characteristics and species behaviour are briefly outlined. Keys to males and females…
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…
In a heterogeneous environment, males of Somatochlora flavomaculata regularly occupy site-fixed locations away from water, adjacent to vertical landscape elements, and to a lesser extent, also at water, i.e. at oviposition sites. Territories both over land and over water are typically patrolled by continuous site-fixed flights. These places serve as rendezvous sites where copulation is…
The reproductive behaviour of Libellago semiopaca was studied on a swift-flowing shallow forest stream in Brunei. Females oviposited just below the water-line, commonly in groups, only on large, firm-textured, semi-submerged logs, usually guarded by males. Both sexes were very sedentary. Suitable sites, with good illumination and deep deposits of fine gravel and leaf mulch in…
All female Odonata have been assumed to produce oocytes continuously during their mature life span. However, a recent study of ovariole orientation and development led to the suggestion that Libellulidae are divided into two groups of species, one with continuous, the other with stepwise oocyte production. To find more evidence of this division, we compared…
During the course of a population genetic study of Trithemis stictica that included sites in Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Botswana and Zambia, two undescribed libellulid species were discovered in the Okavango and Upper Zambezi Floodplains. These were both previously identified as T. stictica. We describe the two species, T. morrisoni sp. nov. (holotype ♂: Namibia,…
Size and mass are often uniformly related within individuals and populations, but the relationship may vary in time or space. I asked whether isolated adult dragonfly populations within the same environmental context (climate, physiography, ecoregion) differ in both size and mature mass, and whether earlier emerging dragonflies are both larger and heavier on average. Differences…
In this synopsis all 50 species of the primarily neotropical genus Telebasis are keyed, diagnosed, and illustrated. Helveciagrion is considered a junior subjective synonym of Telebasis, T. coccinata a junior subjective synonym of T. coccinea, and T. limoncocha a junior subjective synonym of T. griffinii. Six new species from South America are described: T. carvalhoi…