Biology:Libellula

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Libellula is a genus of dragonflies, called chasers (in England) or skimmers (in America), in the family Libellulidae. They are mainly distributed throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Many have showy wing patterns and brightly colored bodies.[1][2]

Identification

These are medium to large dragonflies, 34–63 mm (1.3–2.5 in) in length. The faces of these dragonflies can be white, yellow, red, brown, or black. Their bodies can be light yellow, orange, red, or brown, and the males often have a frost-like coating when mature. Wings of the Libellula genus often have yellow, orange, or brown patterns, or they can be completely clear.[2]

Unique characteristics belonging only to the Libellula genus are not well defined. Many species or individual dragonflies have variations of these identifying traits. However, 4 synapomorphies are described, with 2 of them referring to the wing venation. The other 2 identifying features of the Libellula genus are a characteristic brown area at the base of the forewing and a wide abdomen.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Libellula dragonflies are generally distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. A few species are endemic to Europe and Asia, but much of the diversity of this genus in North America. L. herculea is the only species with an extensive distribution in South America.[2][3]

The adult Libellula are commonly found near bodies of water, perching or landing on reeds and branches. Larvae in the genus live exclusively in water, particularly in the muddy bottoms of still or slow-moving water bodies.[2] Some species, like L. pulchella, can live in drinking tanks of well-water for cattle, along with their natural habitat of ponds and marshes.[4]

Of the 27 species in the genus[5], 5 are currently listed on the IUCN Red List as threatened with extinction. L. angelina is listed as critically endangered, L. coahuiltecana is endangered, and L. jesseana is vulnerable. The other two species, L. mariae and L. pontica, are listed as near threatened.[6]

Biology

The shed exoskeleton of a Libellula nymph. The well-developed jaw used to catch prey can be seen to the left of the rest of the head.

Eggs are laid by adult females directly into water bodies, which will hatch into aquatic nymphs. Libellula nymphs can compete for resources with other nymphs in their genus in a shared habitat. These nymphs can also cannibalize each other in high densities, and dragonflies are often the top predator in fishless water bodies.[7] Species within Libellula are efficient predators, using mechanical and visual cues to release their developed labium and labial palpi to catch their prey.[8]

Adult males in the Libellula genus can be territorial and aggressive. The territories they defend are ideal breeding sites, which are in sunlight and lacking surface vegetation. They fly around their territory and attack other male dragonflies to eliminate mating competition.[9] The males are likely territorial due to the sex-ratio being biased towards males, meaning that there are more males than females.[10]

Etymology

The genus name comes from Latin libella, meaning "a carpenter's level", because of the insect's ability to stay level when hovering.[11]

Taxonomy

The taxa Ladona (corporals) and Plathemis (whitetails) have been considered as synonyms of Libellula, subgenera, or separate genera by different authorities. However, recent phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequence data and insect morphology has supported their status as subgenera of Libellula rather than independent genera.[3][12]

Species

List of species.[13]

Extant species

Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution
120px 120px Libellula angelina Selys, 1883 bekko tombo North China, Japan
120px 120px Libellula auripennis Burmeister, 1839 golden-winged skimmer North and Central America
120px 120px Libellula axilena Westwood, 1837 bar-winged skimmer North America
Libellula coahuiltecana

Ortega-Salas & González-Soriano, 2015

Coahuila Skimmer Mexico (Coahuila)[5]
120px Libellula comanche Calvert, 1907 Comanche skimmer Central America and North America
120px Libellula composita (Hagen, 1873) bleached skimmer North America.
120px 120px Libellula croceipennis

Selys, 1869

neon skimmer North and Central America
120px 120px Libellula cyanea Fabricius, 1775 spangled skimmer United States of America
120px 120px Libellula depressa Linnaeus, 1758 broad-bodied chaser Europe, West Asia. Sometimes included in the genus Ladona.
120x120px 120px Libellula flavida Rambur, 1842 yellow-sided skimmer North America
Libellula foliata (Kirby, 1889) Mexico (Chiapas)
120px 120px Libellula forensis Hagen, 1861 eight-spotted skimmer Western United States and Canada
120px 120px Libellula fulva Müller, 1764 scarce chaser Europe
Libellula gaigei Gloyd, 1938 Red-mantled Skimmer Mexico, United States(Texas)
120px 120px Libellula herculea Karsch, 1889 Hercules Skimmer Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, El Salvador, and Venezuela
120px 120px Libellula incesta Hagen, 1861 slaty skimmer eastern United States and southern Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.
120px Libellula jesseana Williamson, 1922 purple skimmer United States (Florida)
120px 120px Libellula luctuosa Burmeister, 1839 widow skimmer United States, Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec).
Libellula mariae Garrison, 1992 Maria's Skimmer Costa Rica
Libellula melli Schmidt, 1948 China
120px 120px Libellula needhami Westfall, 1943 Needham's skimmer Caribbean, Central America, and North America.
120px Libellula nodisticta Hagen, 1861 hoary skimmer Central America, North America, and South America.
Libellula pontica Selys, 1887 red chaser Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Turkey
120px 120px Libellula pulchella Drury, 1773 twelve-spotted skimmer southern Canada and contiguous U.S. states.
120px 120px Libellula quadrimaculata Linnaeus, 1758 four-spotted skimmer or four-spotted chaser Europe and North America
120px 120px Libellula saturata Uhler, 1857 flame skimmer Southwestern United States
120px 120px Libellula semifasciata Burmeister, 1839 painted skimmer New Brunswick, Canada as far south as Texas and Florida.
120px 120px Libellula vibrans Fabricius, 1793 great blue skimmer eastern United States

Ladona

Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution
120px 120px Ladona deplanata (Rambur, 1842) blue corporal eastern United States.
120x120px Ladona exusta (Say, 1839) white corporal Mid-Atlantic and New England
120px 120px Ladona julia (Uhler, 1857) chalk-fronted corporal northern United States and southern Canada.

Plathemis

Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution
120px 120px Plathemis lydia (Drury, 1770) common whitetail or long-tailed skimmer North America
120px Plathemis subornata (Hagen, 1861) desert whitetail United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington.), Mexico

Fossils

  • Libellula brodieri† [14]
  • Libellula calypso† [14]
  • Libellula doris †[14]
  • Libellula eusebioi† [14]
  • Libellula kieseli† [14]
  • Libellula martini† [14]
  • Libellula melobasis†
  • Libellula pannewitziana† [14]
  • Libellula perse† [14]
  • Libellula sieboldiana† [14]
  • Libellula thetis† [14]
  • Libellula thoe† [14]
  • Libellula ukrainensis† [14]

References

  1. ↑ Needham, James G.; Minter J. Westfall Jr; Michael L. May (2000). Dragonflies of North America (rev. ed.). Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers. pp. 700–702. ISBN 0-945417-94-2. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Garrison, Rosser (2006). Dragonfly Genera of the New World. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9178-6. https://doi.org/10.56021/9780801884467. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Carle, Frank Louis; Kjer, Karl M. (2002-10-24). "Phylogeny of Libellula Linnaeus (Odonata: Insecta)". Zootaxa 87 (1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.87.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334. https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.87.1.1. 
  4. ↑ Mccauley, Shannon J. (2008). "Slow, fast and in between: habitat distribution and behaviour of larvae in nine species of libellulid dragonfly" (in en). Freshwater Biology 53 (2): 253–263. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2007.01889.x. ISSN 1365-2427. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2007.01889.x. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ortega-Salas, Héctor; González-Soriano, Enrique (2015-10-12). "A new species of Libellula Linnaeus, 1758, from the Cuatro Ciénegas basin, Coahuila, México (Anisoptera: Libellulidae)" (in en). Zootaxa 4028 (4): 589–594. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4028.4.10. ISSN 1175-5334. https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4028.4.10. 
  6. ↑ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Libellula&searchType=species. 
  7. ↑ Wissinger, Scott A. (April 1989). "Comparative population ecology of the dragonflies Libellula lydia and Libellula luctuosa (Odonata: Libellulidae)". Canadian Journal of Zoology 67 (4): 931–936. doi:10.1139/z89-135. ISSN 0008-4301. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/z89-135. 
  8. ↑ Rebora, M.; Piersanti, S.; Gaino, E. (2004-04-01). "Visual and mechanical cues used for prey detection by the larva of Libellula depressa (Odonata Libellulidae)". Ethology Ecology & Evolution 16 (2): 133–144. doi:10.1080/08927014.2004.9522642. ISSN 0394-9370. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2004.9522642. 
  9. ↑ Pezalla, Virginia Moyle (1979). "Behavioral Ecology of the Dragonfly Libellula pulchella Drury (Odonata: Anisoptera)". The American Midland Naturalist 102 (1): 1–22. doi:10.2307/2425062. ISSN 0003-0031. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2425062. 
  10. ↑ Boano, Giovanni; Rolando, Antonio (2003-01-01). "Aggressive interactions and demographic parameters in Libellula fulva (Odonata, Libellulidae)". Italian Journal of Zoology 70 (2): 159–166. doi:10.1080/11250000309356510. ISSN 1125-0003. https://doi.org/10.1080/11250000309356510. 
  11. ↑ "Definition of LIBELLULA". https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/libellula. 
  12. ↑ Kambhampati, Srinivas; Charlton, Ralph E. (1999). "Phylogenetic relationship among Libellula, Ladona and Plathemis (Odonata: Libellulidae) based on DNA sequence of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene". Systematic Entomology 24 (1): 37–49. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.1999.00066.x. Bibcode: 1999SysEn..24...37K. 
  13. ↑ Libellula, funet.fi
  14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 "The Paleobiology Database". https://www.fossilworks.org/. 

Wikidata ☰ Q312476 entry



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