Volume 23, 2020
Volume 23, Issue 1 - Dragonfly Flight
Aerodynamic interference depends on stroke plane spacing and wing aspect ratio in damselfly model wings
The fluid dynamics of aerodynamic force control in insects depends on how oscillating wings interact with the surrounding air. The resulting flow structures are shaped by the flow induced by the wing’s instantaneous motion but also on flow components resulting from force production in previous wing strokes and the motion of other wings flapping in…
Recent progress on the flight of dragonflies and damselflies
Remarkable flight performance is key to the survival of adult Odonata. They integrate varied three-dimensional architectures and kinematics of the wings, unsteady aerodynamics, and sensory feedback control in order to achieve agile flight. Therefore, a diverse range of approaches are necessary to understand their flight strategy comprehensively. Recently, new data have been presented in several…
A brief review of Odonata in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
Odonatans are rare as amber inclusions, but quite diverse in Cretaceous Burmese amber. In the past two years, over 20 new species have been found by the present authors after studying over 250 odonatans from 300,000 amber inclusions. Most of them have now been published, and here we provide a brief review. Three suborders of…
Rapid acceleration in Odonata flight: highly inclined and in-phase wing beating
Acceleration manoeuvres in free flight in nature of five damselfly (Zygoptera) and four dragonfly (Anisoptera) species were analysed by means of slow motion filming. Changes in stroke frequencies, stroke angles, stroke directions, angles of inclination of the wings, and the phase-relationship of fore- and hindwings were recorded during acceleration. Damselflies and dragonflies showed similar actions….
Dragonfly flight: morphology, performance and behaviour
Odonata flight performance capabilities and behaviour and their body and wing form diversity are explored, and their interrelationships discussed theoretically and from observational evidence. Overall size and particularly wing loading appear predictably to be related to speed range. In Anisoptera at least, relatively short bodies and long wings should favour high speed manoeuvrability, though further…
History of dragonfly flight
From their earliest appearance in the fossil record, dragonflies have clearly taken a different approach to flight than other insect groups. Even the superficially similar Neuroptera do not fly like dragonflies. Flight specialisation has enabled dragonflies to occupy a range of niches, as specialised predators of flying insects, for around 300 My.
Charlie Ellington (1952-2019) – a career in animal flight mechanics
Charlie Ellington (1952-2019) – a career in animal flight mechanics Robin Woottona Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 23, Issue 1, Pages 5-8, 2020https://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2019.1682372Published: 2 January 220 Full text PDF Copyright information Issue section: Article
Dragonfly flight: a Symposium from the 2017 International Congress of Odonatology held at Clare College, Cambridge
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
How do dragonfly wings work? A brief guide to functional roles of wing structural components
Insect wings have no flight muscles, except those situated in the thorax. However, they continuously respond to forces acting on them during flight. This ability is achieved by the specialised design of the wings and plays a key role in their aerodynamic performance. Dragonfly (Anisoptera) wings represent an extreme example of this automatic shape control…
Volume 23, Issue 2
A description of the final stadium larva of Calicnemia gulinensis Yu & Bu, 2008 (Odonata: Platycnemididae)
The final stadium larva of Calicnemia gulinensis is described here for the first time. The larva can be distinguished from other known species of the genus Calicnemia by the arrangement of setae on premental edges and the number of setae on labial palpi. The important morphological characters of the caudal gills and the possible functional…
First description of the larva of Psaironeura, based on specimens of P. angeloi from Costa Rica (Odonata: Coenagrionidae: Protoneurinae), with a key to the genera of Central American Protoneurinae
The larva of Psaironeura is formally described for the first time, based upon reared specimens of Psaironeura angeloi from the Tirimbina Biological Reserve, Sarapiquí, Heredia Province, Costa Rica. Detailed illustrations are also provided. The larva is characterized by a slender dark brown body, premental setae 2+1, six palpal setae, male cerci globose, and caudal lamellae…
Ecology of Mesamphiagrion laterale (Odonata: Coenagrionidae): abundance, reproduction and interactions with co-occurring species
The behavior of Mesamphiagrion laterale (Selys, 1876) is described based upon 2430 hours of observation. A total of 2820 individuals were observed for 270 days from 2014 to 2015 using mark-recapture. Probabilities of resight, highest reproductive activity, time-perch and time of perch-temperature were statistically analyzed. Mesamphiagrion laterale is not a territorial species, the individuals perch…
Flying activity and population dynamics of Cordulegaster heros Theischinger, 1979 (Insecta: Odonata: Cordulegastridae) in Slovakia
In 2017, we investigated the population dynamics and flying activity of the south-east European endemic dragonfly species Cordulegaster heros Theischinger, 1979. This research was conducted in the southern part of Central Slovakia in the Revúcka vrchovina Upland at a submountainous stream called Drienok. The mark-release-recapture method was applied to study the population. Cordulegaster heros was…
The Odonata of Argentina: state of knowledge and updated checklist
An updated checklist of the 282 species of Odonata known to occur in Argentina is presented along with distributional information by province and ecoregion. Ten new records for the country and 87 new provincial records are provided. At present, 17 species of Odonata are considered endemic to Argentina, and distribution maps for each of them…
Hiding among traps? Mortality of early instar odonate larvae in the presence of bladderwort plants
We investigated the effects of the presence of bladderwort plants on survival of early instar larvae of one coenagrionid and two libellulids in laboratory experiments. In all three species survival was reduced compared to treatments with a non-carnivorous submerged plant, with effective mortality that could be related to bladderwort being 19–45% dependent on the prey…
Development and validation of microsatellite markers for an endangered dragonfly, Libellula angelina (Odonata: Libellulidae), with notes on population structures and genetic diversity
The Bekko Tombo, Libellula angelina Selys, 1883 (Odonata: Libellulidae), is listed as an endangered species in South Korea, and is classified as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). An assessment of the genetic diversity and population relationships of the species by molecular markers can provide the information necessary…
Additions to the dragonfly genus Lauromacromia, with description of the female of Lauromacromia luismoojeni and new distributional records (Odonata: Corduliidae s.l.)
Taxonomic, morphological and distributional data on three species of the rare South American corduliid genus Lauromacromia Geijskes, 1970 are updated based on specimens collected recently and old specimens deposited in natural history collections. The female of the poorly known Lauromacromia luismoojeni (Santos, 1967), an endemic species from the Brazilian Cerrado, is illustrated, described and diagnosed…
Volume 23, Issue 3
Guide to the Odonata of central Ñeembucú, Paraguay: indicator species of wetland habitats
The department of Ñeembucú, in south-western Paraguay, is home to the virtually unexplored Ñeembucú Wetlands, the second largest wetland system in the country, representing a major gap in biodiversity knowledge. As organisms ubiquitous with wetlands, the Odonata, or dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera), have the potential to be effective indicators of wetland habitats in the…
The subfamily Platycnemidinae (Zygoptera: Platycnemididae) in Thailand, with description of the final stadium larva of Copera chantaburii Asahina, 1984
Within the damselfly subfamily Platycnemidinae, eight species are currently recognized in South-East Asia. The final stadium larvae of only three of them have been so far described. The final stadium larva of Copera chantaburii is described and illustrated for the first time, based on reared specimens, and new provincial records both of larvae and adults…
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…
Volume 23, Issue 4
Forcepsioneura machadorum (Coenagrionidae: Protoneurinae) sp. nov. from the Cerrado Biome of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil
The Neotropical genus Forcepsioneura is composed of 11 species that inhabit almost exclusively the Brazilian Atlantic Forest domain, with F. sancta (Hagen in Selys, 1860) being the only species of this genus known to occur in the Cerrado biome. Here we describe a new species of Forcepsioneura from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais State, Brazil….
Odonata drift: a reassessment
More than 400 scientific journal articles and gray literature reports that addressed macroinvertebrate drift were reviewed and 63 articles were found that reported on the natural drift of Odonata at some taxonomic level. Forty-three species and 44 genera within 15 families (nine Zygoptera; six Anisoptera) were documented in the drift. Drift of another 13 species…
Determinants of adult odonate community structure at several spatial scales: effects of habitat type and landscape context
Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) use both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the abundance and diversity of odonates should be good indicators of habitat integrity. To determine which environmental variables affect odonates, we sampled adult dragonflies three times at 12 sites in Pickens and Greenville Counties, SC, USA, in different habitats, at different spatial scales, across a…
Descriptions of the last instar larvae of two species of Megalestes Selys from Yunnan, China (Odonata: Zygoptera: Synlestidae)
The final stadium larvae of Megalestes micans Needham, 1930 and M. kurahashii Asahina, 1985 are described and illustrated from Yunnan Province, China, and a key to the known larvae of seven species of the genus Megalestes is provided. All exuviae will be stored at the Invertebrate Collection of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,…
Distribution, autecology, genetic characterization, and conservation of the Western Mediterranean endemic dragonfly Orthetrum nitidinerve (Selys, 1841): insights from Italy
Aquatic macroinvertebrates are a primary component of freshwater ecosystems and one of the most threatened by anthropogenic pressures. Among them, dragonflies are a charismatic group of growing scientific and social interest. However, little is known about the natural history of several species. One paradigmatic example is the declining Orthetrum nitidinerve, a Western Mediterranean endemic anisopteran….
New records of polymorphism in Asian libellulid dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata)
Polymorphism has rarely been reported from dragonflies of the Libellulidae (Odonata: Anisoptera) family. Here, we report female-limited polymorphism in females of five species of the Libellulidae and a gynandromorph male of Brachythemis contaminata from South Asia. We describe the morphological variation between andromorph and heteromorph females, and collate records of andromorph females from various sources….
Odonate fauna (Insecta: Odonata) from a locality in San Marcos River in the Sierra Norte of Puebla, Mexico
Odonates have been recognized as an important group for evaluating ecosystems since they are used as bioindicators of the conservation status of the habitat they occupy, in addition to being generalist predators feeding on invertebrates and small vertebrates. In this work, the biodiversity of adult odonates from a locality near the San Marcos River, in…
New records of the Paleotropical migrant Hemianax ephippiger in the Caribbean and a review of its status in the Neotropics
Tropical America is currently experiencing the establishment of a new apex insect predator, the Paleotropical dragonfly Hemianax ephippiger (Odonata: Aeshnidae). H. ephippiger is migratory and is suggested to have colonised the eastern Neotropics by chance Trans-Atlantic displacement. We report the discovery of H. ephippiger at three new locations in the Caribbean, the islands of Bonaire,…
Congruence of the composition of Odonata between dry and rainy seasons in the Maranhense Cerrado
In tropical streams, seasonality has a strong influence on heterogeneity, altering available resources and affecting the carrying of organisms, substrate and organic matter. This causes changes in the limnological variables, as well as in the species composition. The aim of our study was to evaluate the response of the congruence of the Odonata community in two seasons in streams of the transition between Cerrado and Caatinga.
Dragonfly (Odonata) community structure in the Eastern Highlands Biodiversity Hotspot of Zimbabwe: potential threats of land use changes on freshwater invertebrates
We examined the diversity and potential drivers of dragonfly distribution in a biodiversity hotspot of Southern Africa (Eastern Highlands, Zimbabwe) by surveying 30 sites (13 lentic and 17 lotic habitats) located within this region. Additionally, we identified the anthropogenic factors that may threaten Odonata diversity and abundance. Our results revealed that 27 odonate species are…
