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
Predator escape behaviour is a critical component of dragonfly life history. Flight initiation distance is the distance at which escape commences, and is well studied in vertebrates, barely studied in invertebrates, and entirely unstudied in dragonflies. Here we test four principles regarding flight initiation distance as derived from studies of vertebrates to examine if they…
We address six issues raised by Nel, Garrouste and Schubnel (2019) concerning the scheme of wing vein homology and nomenclature proposed by Trueman and Rowe (2019); showing in particular how evidence presented in a tomographical study of a dragonfly wing by Jacquelin et al. (2018) fits into this scheme.
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…
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
The larva of Papuagrion is described and illustrated for the first time based on two specimens collected near Goroka, Papua New Guinea. The larvae were identified by matching the mitochondrial marker COI with that of an adult specimen collected at the same locality. The larvae were found in the leaf axils of Pandanus trees which…
Pseudagrion woodlarkensis sp. nov., a new damselfly species from Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea, is described and male and female characters are illustrated. The new species differs from all regional congeners by having a predominantly yellow thorax with bold black stripes, and males can be clearly distinguished from all Papuan Pseudagrion species by the complex…
Heliocypha perforata (sensu lato) is a common stream-dwelling damselfly widespread in mainland tropical Asia. Recently a report has been published suggesting possible ovo-viviparity in this species, based on the interpretation of evidence from a short video sequence. This video is re-evaluated. The internal and external anatomy of the H. perforata female reproductive system, including mature…
Territorial behaviour and mate guarding are important components of mating systems in various insect groups, including the Odonata. This paper reports observations of male territorial behaviour associated with potential ovipositing sites, and postcopulatory, non-contact mate guarding in Petalura gigantea. This is the first unambiguous and detailed report of mate guarding in the Petaluridae. Additional observations…
Nososticta rufipes sp. nov. is described from Misool Island (Indonesia, Papua Barat, Kabupaten Raja Ampat). New records and notes on the species of the genus Nososticta on the Bird’s Head Peninsula and Raja Ampat Islands are presented. Nososticta lorentzi (Lieftinck, 1938) is placed in synonymy with N. nigripes (Ris, 1913).