The representatives of the damselfly family Pseudostigmatidae are known for their ability to catch small orb web spiders, or in some cases small kleptoparasitic spiders in the webs of other spiders. In this paper, I demonstrate that the nanoscopic crystalline wax coverage of wings in the pseudostigmatid damselfly Mecistogaster ornata is partially altered due to…
Dragonflies and damselflies (the Odonata) are among the most efficient flying insects. However, fragmentation of the landscape can increase distance between habitats and affect costs of dispersal, thus shaping phenotypic patterns of flight-related traits, such as wing shape, wing loading and wing size. Urban landscapes are highly fragmented, which limits dispersal among aquatic habitats. Hence,
For the first time water dipping behaviour of Calopteryx during threatening flight is reported. Four males of Calopteryx virgo in a small rivulet coming from a spring pool in SW France involved in threatening flights near an opponent dipped a wing into the water, producing conspicuous water rings. One male did this twice and additionally…
Coeliccia schorri sp. n. is described based on both sexes (holotype male from Dak Roong Commune, K’bang district, Gia Lai province, central highlands of Vietnam). The combination of the characters of a large pruinose spot on the synthorax, blue abdominal tip, and white appendages in the male and a long spine on the posterior pronotal…
Well-adapted flight morphology must allow for efficient behavioral activities. Wing shape has been shown in a variety of species to be influenced by environmental conditions. Analysis of wing shape using geometric morphometrics provides a visualization of wing shape variations. This study examined the effects of varied environments on wing shape and wing size of the…
Emergence substrate and sunlight penetration inherently trade off in patchy vegetation. Given the importance of solar radiation at emergence, we expected greater sunlight availability in sparse vegetation to advance emergence timing and reduce the average height of emergence fixation. We used outdoor mesocosms stocked with varying cattail (Typha) densities and late-stage Pachydiplax longipennis (Odonata: Libellulidae)…
During 2.5 months of intensive fieldwork in Colombia (departments of Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo, South America) from January to March 2017, we visited 13 localities and collected 291 specimens of 68 species of Odonata, including 17 new records for the country. We report range expansions for several species assessed as data deficient or under some…
Coeliccia phamiha sp. n. (holotype male and paratype female from Dak Et bridge, Deo Lo Xo, Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam Province, Central Vietnam, deposited in zoological collection of Duy Tan University) is described based on both sexes. Judging by the structure of genital ligula and appendages of the male and prothorax of the female…
Recent studies have indicated that frequent anthropogenic disturbances in tropical developing countries are primary drivers of reduction in community diversity and local extinction of many arthropods, including dragonflies. We assessed the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on odonate assemblages across three different land use types, in a biodiverse nature reserve in Ghana. A total of 37…
In the nineteenth century Edmond de Selys Longchamps added watercolours, drawings and notes to his extensive collection of dragonfly and damselfly specimens. The majority of illustrations were executed by Selys and Guillaume Severin. The watercolour collection is currently part of the collection of the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels. This previously unpublished…