Search results for "Odonata"

Effects of cuticle structure and crystalline wax coverage on the coloration in young and old males of Calopteryx splendens and Calopteryx virgo

2010

Male secondary sexual characters, such as color patterns, are often investigated at the macroscale level. However, micro- and nanoscale levels of morphological investigations may reveal functional features responsible for a particular coloration, thus providing more information, e.g., about the condition dependence of male sexual characters. The aim of this paper was to investigate cuticle color and its structure in males of two congeneric damselfly species, Calopteryx splendens and Calopteryx virgo, and reveal possible color changes with age. According to spectrometer measurements, C. splendens males were bluer and had a greater saturation of blue in their abdomen than C. virgo males, whic…

Sex-related effects in the superhydrophobic properties of damselfly wings in young and old Calopteryx splendens.

2013

Numerous sex-related morphological adaptations are connected to reproductive behavior in animals. For example, females of some insect species can submerge during oviposition, which may lead to sex-related adaptations in the hydrophobicity (water-repellency) due to specialization of certain morphological structures. On the other hand, ageing can cause changes in hydrophobicity of the surface, because the morphological structures can wear with age. Here, we investigated sex-and age-related differences in wing hydrophobicity and in morphology (spine density, wax cover characteristics, size of females' pseudopterostigma) potentially related to hydrophobicity of Calopteryx splendens damselflies.…

Una revisione critica della check-list e della bibliografia degli Odonati della Sicilia

2023

Influence of temperature and photoperiod on embryonic development in the dragonflySympetrum striolatum(Odonata: Libellulidae)

2015

Temperature and photoperiod play major roles in insect ecology. Many insect species have fixed degree-days for embryogenesis, with minimum and maximum temperature thresholds for egg and larval development and hatching. Often, photoperiodic changes trigger the transfer into the next life-cycle stadium. However, it is not known whether this distinct pattern also exist in a species with a high level of phenotypic plasticity in life-history traits. In the present study, eggs of the dragonfly Sympetrum striolatum Charpentier (Odonata: Libellulidae) are reared under different constant and fluctuating temperatures and photoperiodic conditions in several laboratory and field experiments. In general…

Impact of landscape on spatial genetic structure and diversity ofCoenagrion mercuriale(Zygoptera:Coenagrionidae) in northern France

2015

AbstractLoss and fragmentation of habitat is a current main cause of biodiversity loss in freshwater habitats. Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) depend on these habitats to complete their development. Fragmentation may be a particular threat for odonates because it generates a network of small habitat patches within which populations could suffer from isolation and loss of genetic diversity. The southern damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale is categorized on the IUCN red list as Near Threatened, largely because of population fragmentation and demographic declines associated with changes in land use. Small populations at the margin of this species’ range are of particular concern because the…

OSSERVAZIONI DI ZYGONYX TORRIDUS (KIRBY 1889) (Insecta Odonata) IN ITALIA

2015

Records of Zygonyx torridus (Kirby 1889) (Insecta Odonata) in Italy.

Interspecific aggression and character displacement in the damselfly Calopteryx splendens

2004

Problems in species recognition are thought to affect the evolution of secondary sexual characters mainly through avoidance of maladaptive hybridization. Another, but much less studied avenue for the evolution of sexual characters due to species recognition problems is through interspecific aggression. In the damselfly, Calopteryx splendens, males have pigmented wing spots as a sexual character. Large-spotted males resemble males of another species, Calopteryx virgo, causing potential problems in species recognition. In this study, we investigate whether there is character displacement in wing spot size and whether interspecific aggression could cause this pattern. We found first that wing …

Hybridization in Calopteryx damselflies: the role of males

2008

Females are often considered responsible for hybridization between two species because usually they are the choosier sex and their cooperation is needed for successful copulation. However, males can also be responsible for hybridization, for example in species in which males are able to force copulation. We studied the pattern of hybridization in two congeneric damselfly species, Calopteryx splendens and Calopteryx virgo, and provide evidence that F1 hybrids between the two damselfly species occur in the wild. According to mitochondrial DNA analysis, hybridization is reciprocal: five of seven hybrids were sired by C. splendens and two by C. virgo males. We conducted an experiment that revea…

The genus Sympetrum Newmann, 1833 (Odonata Libellulidae)

2020

The genus Sympetrum Newmann, 1833 (Odonata Libellulidae)

Crystalline wax coverage of the imaginal cuticle inCalopteryx splendens(Odonata: Calopterygidae)

2009

Abstract In this study we use high resolution SEM to describe the diversity of wax crystals and their distribution on different morphological structures in male individuals of Calopteryx splendens. The entire cuticle surface of this damselfly, with the exception of ommatidia and ocelli, is covered with crystalline wax in dimensions from submicron to micron range. It is shown that shape - rod-like, plate like, filamentous, etc. -, size, and density of crystals vary on different surfaces and in individuals of different ages. Additionally, we demonstrate different types of damage to the crystalline wax layer: scratches, compressions, wear, and contamination. The primary function of the wax cry…