Diel pattern of activity, mating, and flight behaviour in Onychogomphus uncatus (Odonata: Gomphidae)

The behaviour of Onychogomphus uncatus, including flight and mating activity, was studied at a fast-flowing irrigation canal. During the day, males perched in sections of the canal with a strong current and a turbulent water surface. During short flights, interactions with other con-specific and hetero-specific males occurred, particularly with Orthetrum coerulescens. Under conditions of high…

Body temperature regulation in a late-season dragonfly, Sympetrum vicinum (Odonata: Libellulidae)

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…

Special Session: flight

International Congress of Odonatology 2017 flight session The International Congress of Odonatology 2017 (ICO2017) will be held in the Gillespie Centre at Clare College Cambridge from 16 to 20 July 2017. Registration will be on Saturday 15 July.   Special Session: flight A special session on dragonfly flight to celebrate the work of Charlie Ellington (more…)

Slow-motion analysis of female refusal behaviour in dragonflies

By means of slow-motion film analysis we found new female refusal behaviour patterns against male harassment in a variety of Odonata species. Often, females could escape simply by flying faster than males. Due to the morphological preconditions, there were differences in the two suborders. In Anisoptera, several behavioural specialities were analysed: (a) females of Aeshna…

ICO2017

This meeting has now concluded and this site has been saved for posterity. Thanks to the organizers for an exciting, informative & successful meeting!   The International Congress of Odonatology 2017 (ICO2017) will be held in the Gillespie Centre at Clare College Cambridge from 16 to 20 July 2017. Registration will be on Saturday 15 (more…)

ICO 2023

EARTHQUAKE INFO: Cyprus was not affected by the recent severe earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Some minor tremors were felt but there was no damage or injuries. 

Cyprus is in a seismically active zone, however it is one of the quietest areas of the Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt, and earthquakes in Cyprus are much less frequent and weaker than in Turkey or Greece.  Cyprus’ building standards are also generally better and designed to be earthquake-resistant. 

Read more at: https://www.kiprinform.com/en/cyprus_interesting/earthquakes-in-cyprus/


On the firing line – interactions between hunting frogs and Odonata

Frogs are important predators of Odonata. We investigated frogs catching Odonata prey by means of slow-motion filming in the field in order to understand the prey–predator interactions. In particular, we aimed to analyse kinematics of captures, and of Odonata fleeing, through evaluation of frame-by-frame filming; 122 (20%) of 613 events were analysed. While dragonflies were…

Wing shape patterns among urban, suburban, and rural populations of Ischnura elegans (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

Dragonflies and damselflies (the Odonata) are among the most efficient flying insects. However, fragmentation of the landscape can increase distance between habitats and affect costs of dispersal, thus shaping phenotypic patterns of flight-related traits, such as wing shape, wing loading and wing size. Urban landscapes are highly fragmented, which limits dispersal among aquatic habitats. Hence,