Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8kt4b Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T22:44:06.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE BIOLOGY OF TWO RELATED SPECIES OF COENAGRIONID DRAGONFLIES (ODONATA: ZYGOPTERA) IN WESTERN CANADA1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

W. W. Sawchyn  and
C. Gillott
W. W. Sawchyn
Affiliation:
Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
C. Gillott
Affiliation:
Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The biology of Coenagrion angulatum Walker and C. resolutum Hagen in Saskatchewan has been studied. In these species embryonic development begins as soon as the eggs are laid and is completed in the field within 3 weeks. Larval development is rapid and larvae in the final instar were first collected before the middle of September. Development ceases during the first 2 weeks of October when the water temperature is about 2 °C. By this time the majority of larvae are in the last three instars. Larvae overwinter frozen in the ice 15 to 20 cm below the pond surface. They are able to survive temperatures as low as −5° to −6 °C though these extremes are not normally experienced in the field because of snow cover. Although the study pond filled with runoff water by mid-April no change in the larval population structure occurred until mid-May. Emergence, which is highly synchronous, begins in the last week of May. However, it is governed by the prevailing air and water temperatures, and occurs only when the mean daily water temperature exceeds 12 °C and the mean maximum air temperature reaches 20° to 21 °C. Most insects emerge within 10 days of the first appearance of the adults. Sexual maturation takes about 1 week. Oviposition occurs while the pair are in tandem. Preferred oviposition sites are the submerged portions of stalks of floating plants such as Utricularia, Ranunculus, and Potamogeton. The observations are discussed in terms of the species’ ability to survive the climatic extremes of central Canada.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 107 , Issue 2 , February 1975 , pp. 119 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ando, H. 1962. The comparative embryology of Odonata with special reference to a relic dragonfly Epiophlebia superstes Selys. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Benke, A. C. 1970. A method for comparing individual growth rates of aquatic insects with special reference to the Odonata. Ecology 51: 328–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandt, A. 1869. Beiträge zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Libelluliden und Hemipteren. Mém. Acad. imp. Sci. St. Petersburg, 7e Ser., 13: 1–33. (Cited by Ando 1962.)Google Scholar
Connor, W. F. 1968. Territorial relationships of the dragonfly Libellula quadrimaculata L. M. A. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon.Google Scholar
Corbet, P. S. 1955. The immature stages of the emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator Leach (Odonata:Aeshnidae). Ent. Gaz., Lond. 6: 189–204.Google Scholar
Corbet, P. S. 1956. The life history of Lestes sponsa (Hansemann) and Sympetrum striolatum (Charpentier) (Odonata). Tijdschr. Ent. 99: 217–229.Google Scholar
Corbet, P. S. 1957. The life-history of the emperor dragonfly Anax imperator Leach (Odonata:Aeshnidae). J. Anim. Ecol. 26: 1–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corbet, P. S. 1963. A biology of dragonflies. Quandrangle Books, Chicago.Google Scholar
Corbet, P. S., Longfield, C., and Moore, N. W.. 1960. Dragonflies. Collins, London.Google Scholar
Daborn, G. R. 1969. Transient ecological succession in a shallow pond. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton.Google Scholar
Daborn, G. R. 1971. Survival and mortality of coenagrionid nymphs (Odonata: Zygoptera) from the ice of an aestival pond. Can. J. Zool. 49: 569–571.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eller, J. G. 1964. Seasonal regulation in Pachydiplax longipennis (Burmeister) (Odonata: Libellulidae). Ph.D. Thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.Google Scholar
Fertuck, L. J., Spyker, J. W.. and Husband, W. H. W.. 1971. Numerical estimation of ice growth as a function of air temperature, wind speed and snow cover. Eng. J. 44. (C.S.M.E. trans.)Google Scholar
Gardner, A. E. 1954. The life-history of Coenagrion hastulatum (Charp.) (Odonata:Coenagriidae). Ent. Gaz., Lond. 5: 17–40.Google Scholar
Gardner, A. E. 1955. The egg and mature larvae of Aeshna isosceles (Mueller) (Odonata: Aeshnidae). Ent. Gaz. 6: 13–20.Google Scholar
Grieve, E. G. 1937. Studies on the biology of the damselfly, Ischnura verticalis Say, with notes on certain parasites. Entomologica Am. 17: 121–153.Google Scholar
Jacobs, M. E. 1955. Studies on territorialism and sexual selection in dragonflies. Ecology 36: 566–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Needham, J. G. and Heywood, H. B.. 1929. A handbook of the dragonflies of North America. Thomas, Springfield.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rostand, J. 1935. La vie des Libellules. Delamain et Boutelleau, Paris.Google Scholar
Sawchyn, W. W. 1971. Environmental controls in the seasonal succession and synchronization of development in some pond species of damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera). Ph.D. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon.Google Scholar
Sawchyn, W. W. and Church, N. S.. 1973. The effects of temperature and photoperiod on diapause development in the eggs of four species of Lestes (Odonata: Zygoptera). Can. J. Zool. 51: 1257–1265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sawchyn, W. W. and Gillott, C.. 1974 a. The life history of Lestes congener (Odonata: Zygoptera) on the Canadian Prairies. Can. Ent. 106: 367–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sawchyn, W. W. 1974 b. The life histories of three species of Lestes (Odonata: Zygoptera) in Saskatchewan. Can. Ent. 106: 1283–1293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, E. M. 1913. New nymphs of Canadian Odonata. Can. Ent. 45: 161–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, E. M. 1914. New and little-known nymphs of Canadian Odonata. Can. Ent. 46: 349–357, 369–377.Google Scholar
Walker, E. M. 1940. A preliminary list of the Odonata of Saskatchewan. Can. Ent. 72: 26–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, E. M. 1947. Further notes on the subarctic Odonata of North America. Can. Ent. 79: 62–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, E. M. 1953. The Odonata of Canada and Alaska, Vol I. Univ. of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, N and Thomas, R. C. Jr., 1956. A fixative for use in dissecting insects. Stain Technol. 31: 25–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitehouse, F. C. 1941. British Columbia dragonflies (Odonata), with notes on distribution and habits. Am. Midl. Nat. 26: 488–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar