Regulation of thoracic muscle temperature has been investigated in a number of dragonfly species but is poorly known in the large and diverse family, Gomphidae. Moreover, temperatures of other body regions have been recorded in very few ectothermic insects. In addition, correlations among multiple components of thermoregulatory behavior have rarely been examined quantitatively. Here I…
The calopterygines Archineura incarnata and Atrocalopteryx melli are subtropical habitat specialists, endemic to China, and sensitive to environmental change. We identified several sites with environmental deterioration from which the species seem to have disappeared; these species can be used as indicators of human disturbance. In this paper their distribution in China is mapped and information…
Pyrrhosoma elisabethae is one of the rarest and least known odonate taxa in Europe and is often considered to be a subspecies of P. nymphula. The taxon is known from eight localities, four on the Peloponnisos, Greece, three on Kérkira (Corfu), Greece, and one in southern Albania. We describe structural differences between P. elisabethae and…
I sampled odonates in pristine lower montane rainforest in Papua New Guinea over several months, recording habitat characteristics for all encounters with adult odonates. Using ordination techniques such as cluster analysis and canonical correspondence analysis I then classified the odonate fauna into assemblages correlated with environmental factors. Within the 2.5 km2 study area I found…
The larva of Mecistogaster linearis is described and illustrated from specimens collected within or near the Río Dantas Wildlife Refuge at the north-western border of the Barbilla National Park on the Costa Rican Caribbean slope. Characters of F-0 larvae permit easy separation from Megaloprepus caerulatus, a species coexisting with M. linearis. Diagnostic characters include overall…
Thirty-five dragonfly species are reported from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. Three are first records. A non-parametric test is used to determine the total number of species to be expected. It suggests that the current number of 62 may be asymptotically complete, except for some specific zones like the Bulgan valley in the south-west, and the…
In Norway and throughout the rest of Europe, a continuous decline in the number of small lakes and ponds has taken place. As a consequence, many pond-dwelling organisms have become rare or extinct. Constructed wetlands (CWs) have since the 1990s been used as a remedial action against agricultural runoff. This study has investigated the potential…
The range of Macromia splendens, a rare anisopteran, includes SE France and some scattered localities on the Iberian Peninsula. During 1996-1998, I made an exhaustive search for the characteristics of the species’ larval and adult habitat, flight period and adult activity in NW Spain. Nine populations were found, greatly increasing its known range. Adults were…
Can a dragonfly bite you? Will it sting if you get too close? Let’s find out!
Are dragonflies effective at controlling mosquitoes and other insect pests?