Telemetry of Anisoptera after emergence first results (Odonata)

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 name-bearing types of Odonata held in the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, with systematic notes on Afrotropical taxa. Part 1: introduction and Anisoptera

Orthographic details of 118 name-bearing types of Odonata are provided in two parts: the first and present paper deals with Anisoptera, the second with Zygoptera. 58 types pertain to good species, although the taxonomy of at least four is problematic. The details of 11 ‘holotypes’ of forms are also provided, although these and their names…

Structure, function and evolution of the ‘glans’ of the anisopteran vesica spermalis (Odonata)

Comparative investigations of the distal part of the vesica spermalis (‘glans’) of the anisopteran male secondary copulatory apparatus reveal three different ‘solutions’ of combining the emptying-mechanism of the sperm-reservoir with a ‘washing out’ of sperm of the male predecessor. The responsible apparatus of the glans—actually driven by pressure-changes inside the erectile organ, which is a…

Odonata of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, part II: Anisoptera

Taxonomic and faunistic information is provided on the Anisoptera of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The genus Atratothemis is established to receive a newly discovered libellulid species A. reelsi sp. nov. belonging to the subfamily Pantalinae. Oligoaeschna aquilonaris sp. nov., Periaeschna rotunda sp. nov., Petaliaeschna gerrhon sp. nov. and Asiagomphus giza sp. nov. are described.

Ballistic defaecation by anisopteran larvae (Odonata): a way to increase foraging success?

The article considers the phenomenon of ballistic defaecation by odonate larvae, exhibited by certain Anisoptera but not by any Zygoptera, and explores two possibilities: (1) that ballistic defaecation in Anisoptera may correlate with increased foraging success (the ‘Wudkevich Hypothesis’) by distancing the prey’s alarm pheromone, persisting in the pellet after defaecation, from the larva’s ambush…