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…
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,…
In a large population of Lestes viridis inhabiting a complex, extended system of channels in the floodplain of the Upper Rhine River near Weisweil (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) detailed samples of exuviae were collected from several subpopulations. For each sample the sex ratio was determined. For statistical reasons only samples with at least 700 exuviae were considered.
Neoneura angelensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated from two males collected in French Guyana. The holotype was collected by the author on 29 December 2003 on Crique Angèle near Saut Athanase, an affluent of Approuague River and is deposited in Muséum d’Histoire naturelle in Neuchâtel (MHNN). On the basis of the structure of the…
The behaviour of Anisoptera during the period between emergence and the onset of sexual activity is poorly known, mainly because freshly emerged adults are hard to follow. In the present study the system RECCO® Transmitter/Receiver and custombuilt tags made from Schottky diodes and copper wire were used to monitor freshly emerged Anisoptera. The system had…
The reproductive behaviour of Neurobasis kaupi was studied for the first time in Central and South Sulawesi. The species was recorded in a wide variety of clear and fast flowing creeks, streams and rivers, mostly in forested areas. The males were territorial and defended potential oviposition sites, a limited resource. Territory owners demonstrated their presence…
I sampled odonates in pristine lower montane rainforest in Papua New Guinea over several months, recording habitat characteristics for all encounters with adult odonates. Using ordination techniques such as cluster analysis and canonical correspondence analysis I then classified the odonate fauna into assemblages correlated with environmental factors. Within the 2.5 km2 study area I found…
Notogomphus maathaiae sp. nov. (holotype ♂: Kenya, Western Province, Mt Elgon District, Mt Elgon, Rongai River, 2,361 m a.s.l., 1°02′19.4″N, 34°45′20.5″E, 06 vi 2000) is described from a series of 8 males and 3 females collected at montane forest streams in Kenya. The status and biogeography of this and other montane species are discussed.
Information on larval biology of Macromia splendens was compiled and supplemented by hitherto unpublished data. Larvae inhabit mainly calm river stretches, sometimes artificial impoundments, and lentic margins of lotic sections. From the majority of records it is concluded that the larvae mainly dwell in sandy substrates in shallow water, which sometimes contains little leaf litter.
Progomphus obscurus is one of the most abundant dragonflies in South Carolina, USA. We collected dragonfly larvae from 127 sites in the Enoree River and nine of its tributaries, and correlated the abundance of P. obscurus larvae with physical and chemical characteristics of these streams. As expected for this burrowing species, larval abundance varied among…