Dragonflies are commonly used as indicators of environmental quality and different methods have been employed to monitor odonate assemblages, such as surveys of all adults, evaluations based on breeding adults, sampling of larvae and collection of exuviae. Results obtained with different sampling methods may not be interchangeable, as the different life stages (e.g. larvae, adults)…
It has been hypothesized that sperm removal ability in male Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies) has promoted sexual conflict over the sperm stored in the reproductive tract of the female. Although there is evidence supporting this hypothesis, most studies have been conducted in a small number of species from specific families. We explored sperm removal ability…
In libellulids, mature oocyte size varies within and between individual ovaries. The regulating mechanism is not yet understood. Variations in the contents of the follicle cells, and thereby their ability to secrete material into the oocyte, might explain some of the observed differences in oocyte size. We therefore investigated the follicle cell surface, the interstitial…
Among insects, perhaps the most appreciated are those that are esthetically pleasing: few capture the interest of the public as much as vibrantly colored dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata). These remarkable insects are also extensively studied. Here, we review the history of odonate systematics, with an emphasis on discrepancies among studies. Over the past century,…
Anisoptera emergence in the seasonal tropics was monitored at a 35-ha managed wetland site in Hong Kong from February 2004 to November 2007. Exuviae records of 18 species from multiple emergence screens, exuviae traps and transect surveys were combined. The presence of adults during this period was also monitored. The study site comprised a mosaic…
A brief account is presented of mass dragonfly migrations observed previously in Russia and West Siberia in particular. A mass migration in Libellula quadrimaculata is described in detail. It occurred on 1 July 1981 in the south-western part of the West Siberian Plain in the valley of the Ishym River. From 1968 to 2008 we…
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…
A singular observation of an adult Tettigonia viridissima (Tettigoniidae) that captured a female Eutolmus rufibarbis (Asilidae) sucking a male Lestes sponsa (Lestidae) is reported. The reciprocal predation of Odonata, Asilidae, and Saltatoria (Ensifera, Caelifera) hitherto recorded in Europe is compiled and augmented by unpublished data on asilids as predators of odonates. Heavy predation by robber-flies…
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…
Two Cordulia species have been described so far, the Eurasian C. aenea and the North American vicariant C. shurtleffii. The names amurensis, tatrica, turfosa, laubmanni, linaenea and aeneaturfosa are available in the synonymy of C. aenea. Out of these, only the name amurensis is deemed to denote a separate taxon, which is currently regarded as…