Vol. 3: Insects |
Order: Odonata |
Species accounts
Living fossil
Epiophlebia laidlawi
FAMILY
Epiophlebidae
TAXONOMY
Epiophlebia laidlawi Tillyard, 1921, Himalayas.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Black with bright yellow stripes on the thorax and abdomen. One of the only two extant species of Anisozygoptera, it shares some characteristics with damselflies (forewings and hind wings similar in shape and venation and a well-developed ovipositor) and others with dragonflies (eyes separated by less distance than their width, a pair of superior caudal appendages and a single inferior one in the male, and broad-bodied larva with rectal breathing).
DISTRIBUTION
Confined to the eastern Himalayas in Nepal and India.
HABITAT
Breeds in streams between 6,000 and 11,500 ft (1,800–3,500 m). Adults fly in clearings within dense bamboo forests.
BEHAVIOR
Larvae stridulate when disturbed. During the maturation period adults fly high above breeding areas. When mature, males fly slowly, low down and close to the stream; females skulk at the water’s edge in the vegetation.
Epiophlebia laidlawi
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Nothing is known.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Males grasp females by the back of the head to form the tandem position. A solitary female inserts eggs into the stems of plants growing at stream margins. Larval period lasts from six to nine years, the longest known for any odonate.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Until 1980 considered Endangered but since then discovered at several new sites, appearing to be widespread and common. Given the necessary habitat protection, it can be considered safe.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Wandering glider
Pantala flavescens
FAMILY
Libellulidae
TAXONOMY
Libellula flavescens Fabricius, 1798, India.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Rainpool glider, globe skimmer.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Yellowish-red in color. The base of the hind wing is noticeably broadened, with a small, diffuse yellowish patch at the base. Pterostigma of the forewing longer than that of the hind wing. Strongly tapering abdomen, with a black mid-dorsal stripe.
DISTRIBUTION
A cosmopolitan species, found in tropical and temperate regions around the world. Common in the tropics but rarely seen in Europe.
HABITAT
Breeds in small, shallow, often temporary pools. Adults frequently are observed far from water.
BEHAVIOR
Strong, high-gliding flight, rarely settling. The species is gregarious and may form large feeding and migratory swarms. Feeding flights may continue beyond dusk. They have been seen far out at sea, flying even at night, when they frequently are attracted to the lights of ships.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
A study of the gut contents of adults feeding over rice fields in Bangladesh showed that their diet consisted mainly of mosquitoes.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Males patrol territories about 30–150 ft (9–45 m) in length. After mating, the male remains in tandem while the female lays her eggs. Females oviposit by tapping the surface of the water
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Order: Odonata |
Vol. 3: Insects |
Pantala flavescens
Megaloprepus caerulatus
with the tip of the abdomen. Larval development is rapid, an adaptation that allows for the use of temporary pools (including swimming pools) as breeding sites.
DISTRIBUTION
Rainforests of Central and South America, from Mexico to Bolivia.
CONSERVATION STATUS |
HABITAT |
Not listed by the IUCN.
Larvae breed in water-filled plant containers. Adults frequent sunlit gaps or small clearings in the forest.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Forest giant
Megaloprepus caerulatus
FAMILY
Pseudostigmatidae
TAXONOMY
Libellula caerulata Drury, 1782, Bay of Honduras.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
Spanish: Helicóptero.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Largest damselfly, with a wingspan of 6.4 in (160 mm) and a very long abdomen, at 4 in (100 mm). Wings lack pterostigma and have a wide, dark blue band. Sexually dimorphic (males and females look different); males are larger, with a white patch before the blue band and a hyaline wing tip, while females are shorter, with only white on the wing tip.
BEHAVIOR
Because of their particular breeding sites scattered throughout the forest, this forest giant is never found in great numbers.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Adults are specialist foragers; they detect nonmoving prey and pluck small web-building spiders, occasionally also taking wrapped prey from webs. Larvae feed on mosquito and fly larvae, microcrustaceans and tadpoles, and conspecifics sharing the same tree hole.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
A territorial male uses a slow wing beat frequency to appear as a pulsating blue and white beacon to both potential mates and competing males in an open forest gap. He can aggressively defend a particular tree hole for up to three months. After copulating, the female uses her long abdomen to lay her eggs inside tree holes with water.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia |
Vol. 3: Insects |
Order: Odonata |
Resources
Books
Corbet, P. S. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. New
York: Cornell University Press, 1999.
Dunkle, S. W. Dragonflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Needham, James C., Minter J. Westfall, and Michael L. May. Dragonflies of North America. Revised edition. Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers, 2000.
Silsby, J. Dragonflies of the World. Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing, 2001.
Westfall, Minter J. Jr., and Michael L. May. Damselflies of North America. Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers, 1996.
Organizations
British Dragonfly Society. Membership Office, 53 Rownhams Road, Maybush, Southampton, SO16 5DX United Kingdom. Web site: <http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk>
Dragonfly Society of the Americas. 2091 Partridge Lane, Binghamton, NY 13903 United States. Web site: <http://www.afn.org/iori/dsaintro.html>
Gesellschaft Deutschsprachiger Odonatologen. Web site: <http://www.libellula.org>
International Odonata Research Institute. E-mail: iori@afn.org Web site: <http://www.afn.org/iori>
Societas Internationalis Odonatologica. P.O. Box 256,
Bilthoven, NL-3720 AG Netherlands.
Worldwide Dragonfly Association. P.O. Box 321, Leiden, 2300 AH Netherlands. Web site: <http://powell.colgate.edu/wda/dragonfly.htm>
Other
“Dragonfly (Odonata) Biodiversity.” [22 Dec. 2002]. <http:// www.ups.edu/biology/museum/UPSdragonflies.html>.
Natalia von Ellenrieder, PhD
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