The fluid dynamics of aerodynamic force control in insects depends on how oscillating wings interact with the surrounding air. The resulting flow structures are shaped by the flow induced by the wing’s instantaneous motion but also on flow components resulting from force production in previous wing strokes and the motion of other wings flapping in…
The department of Ñeembucú, in south-western Paraguay, is home to the virtually unexplored Ñeembucú Wetlands, the second largest wetland system in the country, representing a major gap in biodiversity knowledge. As organisms ubiquitous with wetlands, the Odonata, or dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera), have the potential to be effective indicators of wetland habitats in the…
Frogs are important predators of Odonata. We investigated frogs catching Odonata prey by means of slow-motion filming in the field in order to understand the prey–predator interactions. In particular, we aimed to analyse kinematics of captures, and of Odonata fleeing, through evaluation of frame-by-frame filming; 122 (20%) of 613 events were analysed. While dragonflies were…
Acceleration manoeuvres in free flight in nature of five damselfly (Zygoptera) and four dragonfly (Anisoptera) species were analysed by means of slow motion filming. Changes in stroke frequencies, stroke angles, stroke directions, angles of inclination of the wings, and the phase-relationship of fore- and hindwings were recorded during acceleration. Damselflies and dragonflies showed similar actions….
From their earliest appearance in the fossil record, dragonflies have clearly taken a different approach to flight than other insect groups. Even the superficially similar Neuroptera do not fly like dragonflies. Flight specialisation has enabled dragonflies to occupy a range of niches, as specialised predators of flying insects, for around 300 My.
Dragonfly flight: a Symposium from the 2017 International Congress of Odonatology held at Clare College, Cambridge Richard Rowea Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 23, Issue 1, Pages 1-4, 2020https://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2019.1681812Published: 2 January 220 Full text PDF Copyright information Issue section: Introduction
Insect wings have no flight muscles, except those situated in the thorax. However, they continuously respond to forces acting on them during flight. This ability is achieved by the specialised design of the wings and plays a key role in their aerodynamic performance. Dragonfly (Anisoptera) wings represent an extreme example of this automatic shape control…
Tachopteryx thoreyi is one of only two species of petalurid dragonflies with a non-fossorial larval stage. In the context of questions related to the phylogenetics, historical biogeography and current distribution of the Petaluridae, the evolution of a burrowing larval stage in petalurids, which is unique in the Odonata, is of considerable interest. This paper reports…
Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) are often used as indicators of habitat type and quality due to their varied use of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Species differ in their preferences for lotic and lentic waters, but community changes across ecotones, or transitional zones between distinct habitats (e.g. lotic and lentic), are not well understood. We quantified dragonfly…
Existing nomenclatures for the venation of the odonate wing are inconsistent and inaccurate. We offer a new scheme, based on the evolution and ontogeny of the insect wing and on the physical structure of wing veins, in which the veins of dragonflies and damselflies are fully reconciled with those of the other winged orders. Our