Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) use both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the abundance and diversity of odonates should be good indicators of habitat integrity. To determine which environmental variables affect odonates, we sampled adult dragonflies three times at 12 sites in Pickens and Greenville Counties, SC, USA, in different habitats, at different spatial scales, across a…
Tropical America is currently experiencing the establishment of a new apex insect predator, the Paleotropical dragonfly Hemianax ephippiger (Odonata: Aeshnidae). H. ephippiger is migratory and is suggested to have colonised the eastern Neotropics by chance Trans-Atlantic displacement. We report the discovery of H. ephippiger at three new locations in the Caribbean, the islands of Bonaire,…
Within the damselfly subfamily Platycnemidinae, eight species are currently recognized in South-East Asia. The final stadium larvae of only three of them have been so far described. The final stadium larva of Copera chantaburii is described and illustrated for the first time, based on reared specimens, and new provincial records both of larvae and adults…
We investigated the effects of the presence of bladderwort plants on survival of early instar larvae of one coenagrionid and two libellulids in laboratory experiments. In all three species survival was reduced compared to treatments with a non-carnivorous submerged plant, with effective mortality that could be related to bladderwort being 19–45% dependent on the prey…
Protosticta binhi sp. n. is described from the Central Highlands of Vietnam (holotype male: Vietnam, Gia Lai Province, K’Bang District, Dak Roong Commune, Dak Hro village, 14.36611° N, 108.4103° E, 1130 m asl, 22 May 2018, T.odo. 22051810, Zoological Collection of Duy Tan University). The new species can be easily distinguished from all other Protosticta…
We investigated the odonates of Wadi Cherf, a tributary of Wadi Seybouse, and explored the main environmental factors that may be important drivers of the abundance and diversity of Odonata assemblages. PCA analyses demonstrated a significant altitudinal gradient associated with water flow, temperature, vegetation cover, substrate and adjacent land use. Notably, pollution was a dominant…
Predator escape behaviour is a critical component of dragonfly life history. Flight initiation distance is the distance at which escape commences, and is well studied in vertebrates, barely studied in invertebrates, and entirely unstudied in dragonflies. Here we test four principles regarding flight initiation distance as derived from studies of vertebrates to examine if they…
A new species, Noguchiphaea laotica, is described based on specimens from Lon San, Saysomboun Province, Laos. The holotype male and a paratype female are deposited in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. This new species is allied to N. yoshikoae from northern Thailand, but differs from it in the morphology of the male…
Adaptation of life-history traits is an important factor for the success of insects. Voltinism is a feature that descends from several life-history traits and, given that the latter depend on the specific environment of growth, voltinism can vary between populations across latitudes or habitats. In addition, some insects, like many odonates, have developed different patterns…
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…