Volume 8, 2005
Information for Authors
Seasonality of prey size selection in adult Sympetrum vicinum (Odonata: Libellulidae)
Sympetrum vicinum is a sit and wait predator, which takes off and pursues small flying insects during its long flying season (July to November). We investigated whether foraging individuals become less discriminating regarding prey size selection during the fall season because the changeable fall weather has an impact on the prey population. To investigate the…
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.
Visual deception of a male Libellula depressa by the shiny surface of a parked car (Odonata: Libellulidae)
A male Libellula depressa was observed to mistake a dark-green passenger coach for a water body thus establishing his territory over the surface of the vehicle and using the radio antenna as perch. A videopolarimetric analysis of the car body showed that the light reflected from the bonnet was highly and horizontally polarized with rather…
A synopsis of the South American genus Gomphomacromia (Odonata: Gomphomacromiinae)
Gomphomacromia mexicana is shown to be a junior synonym of G. chilensis based on a comparison of the holotype male with the original description of G. chilensis and specimens identified as that species from Chile. Examination of a large series of specimens from central and southern Chile and Argentina identified both as G. paradoxa and…
Landscape variation in the larval density of a bromeliad-dwelling zygopteran, Mecistogaster modesta (Odonata: Pseudostigmatidae)
In the premontane rain forests of northwest Costa Rica, patches of secondary forest can contain high densities of large Vriesea spp. bromeliads. Such patches contain an average of 6,470 ± 1,080 (s.e.) larvae ha-1 of the bromeliad-dwelling pseudostigmatid, Mecistogaster modesta, ca 3 6× higher than larval densities that we previously reported for adjacent primary forest.
The larva of Mecistogaster linearis, with notes on its abundance in lowland rainforest of Costa Rica (Odonata: Pseudostigmatidae)
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…
Sperm numbers, sperm storage duration and fertility limitation in the Odonata
The status of the Odonata as a model taxon for studying the evolution and diversity of reproductive behaviours is shown here to have declined relative to crickets and Drosophila. Very few available data on ejaculate size, the number of sperm stored by females and the duration of sperm storage reveal poor knowledge of these areas…
Larval biology, life cycle and habitat requirements of Macromia splendens, revisited (Odonata: Macromiidae)
Information on larval biology of Macromia splendens was compiled and supplemented by hitherto unpublished data. Larvae inhabit mainly calm river stretches, sometimes artificial impoundments, and lentic margins of lotic sections. From the majority of records it is concluded that the larvae mainly dwell in sandy substrates in shallow water, which sometimes contains little leaf litter.
Taxonomy and identification of the continental African Gynacantha and Heliaeschna species (Odonata: Aeshnidae)
The taxonomy of the Gynacantha and Heliaeschna species from continental Africa is problematic, and available keys are unsatisfactory. ‘Traditional’ characters such as venation and ‘innovative’ ones like abdominal denticulation are evaluated and their variability is measured and discussed. G. quadrina is a synonym of G. africana and not of G. vesiculata, G. ochraceipes is regarded…
Editorial Board (2004–2006)
Volume 8, Issue 1
Volume 8, Issue 2
Information for Authors
Taxonomy of the South American genus Phyllopetalia (Odonata: Austropetaliidae)
This synopsis of adult Phyllopetalia includes the synonymy of four genera (Phyllopetalia senior subjective synonym of Rheopetalia, Odontopetalia, Eurypetalia and Ophiopetalia), four species and one subspecies (P. apicalis senior subjective synonym of Rheopetalia rex and R. apicalis decorata, and P. pudu senior subjective synonym of Ophiopetalia araucana, O. auregaster and O. diana). P. excrescens and…
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…
Habitat associations of an Odonata community in a lower montane rainforest in Papua New Guinea
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…
Description of the final stadium larvae of African Gomphidia (Odonata: Gomphidae)
Descriptions and illustrations of the final stadium larvae of Gomphidia bredoi, G. gamblesi and G. quarrei are presented, based on exuviae collected in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Kenya and Namibia. The three species can be separated by the presence/absence and shape of an abdominal dorsal spine on segment 9, by the numbers of abdominal lateral spines…
Differential dispersal propensities between individuals in male Leucorrhinia intacta (Odonata: Libellulidae)
I compared males of Leucorrhinia intacta collected at two permanent and two previously dried ponds to assess whether males colonizing formerly dried sites differed in morphology or level of mite parasitism from males at permanent sites. Males colonizing sites that had local extinctions in the previous year due to pond drying were more similar to…
Pamita hannahdaltonae gen. nov., sp. nov. from Baltic amber (Odonata: Amphipterygida)
The first known amphipterygid-like zygopteran from amber is described. Although its provenance is not known with certainty, we feel confident in attributing it to the Baltic amber deposits of northern Europe. It thus represents the first Old World Tertiary amphipterygidan and substantially extends the known geographic range of the taxon. Based on current knowledge its…
The evolution and frequency of female color morphs in Holarctic Odonata: why are male-like females typically the minority?
We compiled data on the occurrence and frequency of distinct female variants among Holarctic Odonata and interpreted the data in light of harassment-based hypotheses. The major source of male confusion for male mimicry hypotheses is predicted to be signal similarity between andromorphs and male distractors; for the learned mate recognition hypothesis (LMR), it is predicted…
Honouring Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai: Notogomphus maathaiae sp. nov., a threatened dragonfly of Kenya’s forest streams (Odonata: Gomphidae)
Notogomphus maathaiae sp. nov. (holotype ♂: Kenya, Western Province, Mt Elgon District, Mt Elgon, Rongai River, 2,361 m a.s.l., 1°02′19.4″N, 34°45′20.5″E, 06 vi 2000) is described from a series of 8 males and 3 females collected at montane forest streams in Kenya. The status and biogeography of this and other montane species are discussed.
