E.D.V. Prendergast retired from a military career in 1973 and henceforth actively pursued many natural history and field sports interests. Studies of birds were followed in the later years by significant work on Odonata. A systematic study of the species’ distributions of Gambian dragonflies and conservation work involving Coenagrion mercuriale were especially important.
Male aeshnid dragonflies at a small pond (circumference ca 90 m) in Cambridgeshire U.K. generally pursued males of other aeshnid species as well as their own. As a result of these encounters the pursued insect frequently left the pond, particularly when it belonged to a smaller species. Libellulids, which differed greatly from the aeshnids in…
Small sweep-net samples of larvae of Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis, obtained during five consecutive years from a permanent stream in the Sierra Morena Mountains, southern Spain, were combined according to month to infer the voltinism during the study period. Detailed records of head width, wing-sheath length and metamorphosis status for individual larvae are consistent with the population…
A survey of 32 lakes for dragonfly larvae, aquatic plants and forestry regime in the surrounding boreal forests was performed. The highest diversity was found in undisturbed forests. Lakes rich in aquatic plants were shown also to be rich in dragonflies. A rich plant community is proposed to provide a wider range of microhabitats thereby…
A survey of the dragonflies of Algeria, spanning nine years, has yielded 53 species. Past records of another 10 species are believed to be genuine, making up a total of 63 species for the country. We try to clarify the status of these supplementary species and also provide information on the current distribution and present…
Body temperature regulation and behavioral responses to temperature variation in the field were investigated in Sympetrum vicinum, a common North American libellulid that is most abundant as a mature adult in autumn. Because of its late flight season, this species is faced regularly with cooler environmental temperatures than most dragonflies investigated heretofore. By virtue of…