Breeding behaviour of the Coromandel Marsh Dart Damselfly (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae: Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius)) in central India
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius) is one of the most common damselflies in the Indian subcontinent. It flies among bushes and breeds in stagnant pools, small garden tanks, tubs and ornamental cement ponds containing submerged and/or floating vegetation. The oviposition behaviour of C. coromandelianum was observed at the botanical garden of Hislop College, Nagpur, India, where small underground cement tubs are utilized to grow macrophytes. C. coromandelianum displays a refined hierarchy of preferences for oviposition and chooses floating leaves of Nymphaea nouchali (69%) over Lemna paucicostata (23%) and submerged Hydrilla verticillata (8%). In an uninterrupted oviposition bout, the female deposits 283 eggs in 16 rows (N=5) on the under surface of the N. nouchali leaf. The tiny leaves of L. paucicostata holds 7.8 eggs in 4.8 rows (N=10). In H. verticillata, the internode region of the stem can house 25.4 eggs (N=10). One or two eggs are also found neatly inserted in the thin leaf base of H. verticillata. Decaying plant material is never used for oviposition. The present investigation also clearly demonstrates that the choice of oviposition substrate not only depends upon the presence of aquatic species in the water body but also on the spatial location of the oviposition site.
Article Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Andrew, R.J., N. Thaokar & A.A. Dhamani (2011a). Oviposition and details of egg shell fine structure in Ceriagrion coromandelianum. Odonatologica 40: 169–178.
Andrew, R.J., N. Thaokar & A.A. Dhamani (2011b). Sentinel position of the male during oviposition in the damselfly Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius) (Insecta: Odonata). Hexapoda 18(1): 24–32.
Corbet, P.S. (1999). Dragonflies - Behaviour and Ecology of Dragonflies. Harley Books (B.H. Harley and A. Harley Ltd.), Great Horkesley, England, 829pp.
Grunert, H. (1995). Eiablageverhalten und Substratnutzung von Erythromma najas (Odonata, Coenagrionidae). Braunschweiger, Naturkundliche Schriften 4: 769–794.
Martens, A. (1992). Egg deposition rates and duration of oviposition in Platycnemis pennipes (Pallas) (Insecta, Odonata). Hydrobiologia 230: 63–70.
Martens, A. (1993). Influence of conspecifics and plant structures on oviposition site selection in Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Sulzer) (Zygoptera, Coenagrionidae). Odonatologica 22: 487–494.
Martens, A. (1994). Field experiments on aggregation behaviour and oviposition in Coenagrion puella (L.) (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Advances in Odonatology 6: 49–58.
Martens, A. (1996). ‘Die Federlibellen Europas’ (Neue Brehm-Bucherei Bd. 626, Westrap Wissenschaften, Magdeburg).
Martens, A. (2001). Initial preferences of oviposition site: discrimination between living and dead plant material in Sympecma fusca and Coenagrion caerulescens (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). European Journal of Entomology 98: 121–123.
Matushkina, N.A. & S.N. Gorb (2002). Stylus of the odonate endophytic ovipositor: a mechanosensory organ controlling egg positioning. Journal of Insect Physiology 48: 213–219; http://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1910(01)00166-4
Matushkina, N.A. & S.N. Gorb (2007). Mechanical properties of the endophytic ovipositor in damselflies (Zygoptera, Odonata) and their oviposition substrates. Zoology 110: 167–175; http://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2006.11.003
Matushkina, N.A. & P.H. Lambret (2011). Ovipositor morphology and egg laying behaviour in the dragonfly Lestes macrostigma (Zygoptera: Lestidae). International Journal of Odonatology 14: 69–82; http://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2011.568190
Prasad, M. (1990). Reproductive behaviour of Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius) and Pseudagrion rubriceps Selys (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Annals of Entomology 8: 35–38.
Sharma, G. (2009). Life history and reproductive behaviour of Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius) (Odonata: Insecta). Annals of Forestry 17: 298–310.
Srivastava, B.K. & B.S. Babu (1985). Reproductive behaviour of Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius) (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Proceedings of the First Indian Symposium of Odonatology 209–216pp.
Waage, J.K. (1987). Choice and utilization of oviposition sites by female Calopteryx maculata (Odonata: Calopterygidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 20: 439–446.
Wildermuth, H. (1993). Habitat selection and oviposition site recognition by the dragonfly Aeshna juncea (L.): an experimental approach in natural habitats (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae). Odonatologica 22: 27–44.