International Journal of Odonatology, Mar 24, 2023
Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselfl... more Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselflies, studies on these interactions are scarce. Here, we describe the predatory behavior of Argiope trifasciata on the two most common odonate species in the study area, and whether various factors (web width, web length, spider body length, odonate body length, distance of the web from the edge of water body, and height of the web above ground) are related to the number of odonates captured. Argiope trifasciata employed stalking and frontal approaches as Odonata predation strategies. Our findings showed that larger Odonata are preyed upon by larger spiders. The greatest numbers of prey were caught in wider, higher webs, whereas narrow webs closer to the ground caught more small prey. Capturing success by A. trifasciata was similar in webs at different distances from the water for both species. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no relationship between capturing success in either prey species and the distance of the web from the water. Habitat architecture may be more important to this interaction, as vegetation attracts both spiders (for anchoring webs) and odonates (as perch sites).
Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselfl... more Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselflies, studies on these interactions are scarce. Here, we describe the predatory behavior of Argiope trifasciata on the two most common odonate species in the study area, and whether various factors (web width, web length, spider body length, odonate body length, distance of the web from the edge of water body, and height of the web above ground) are related to the number of odonates captured. Argiope trifasciata employed stalking and frontal approaches as Odonata predation strategies. Our findings showed that larger Odonata are preyed upon by larger spiders. The greatest numbers of prey were caught in wider, higher webs, whereas narrow webs closer to the ground caught more small prey. Capturing success by A. trifasciata was similar in webs at different distances from the water for both species. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no relationship between capturing success in either prey ...
Very little is known about the biology of larval odonates from the Neotropical region, and in par... more Very little is known about the biology of larval odonates from the Neotropical region, and in particular there are no data on behavioral changes during ontogeny and growth ratios, though both are crucial to understanding the dynamics of Odonata communities. Here we study growth ratio, development patterns and behavior of <i>Rhionaeschna marchali</i> larvae. We characterized larval instars using morphometric variables and describe their general behavior. Larvae were obtained from eggs laid by two females in the laboratory. They were maintained in individual containers until their emergence or death. Larvae hatched between 26 and 30 days after laying, and total development time was 340.5 (±5.9) days, with 15 instars. Growth ratios between successive instars averaged 1.12 for head width, 1.25 for head length, 1.20 for antenna length, 1.76 for forewing–pad length, 1.74 for hind wing–pad length, 1.19 for metafemur length and 1.22 for total length. <i>Rhionaeschna marcha...
The behavior of <i>Mesamphiagrion laterale</i> (Selys, 1876) is described based upon ... more The behavior of <i>Mesamphiagrion laterale</i> (Selys, 1876) is described based upon 2430 hours of observation. A total of 2820 individuals were observed for 270 days from 2014 to 2015 using mark-recapture. Probabilities of resight, highest reproductive activity, time-perch and time of perch-temperature were statistically analyzed. <i>Mesamphiagrion laterale</i> is not a territorial species, the individuals perch on grass, trees, garbage, ground, and rocks, they feed on hemipterans, mosquitoes, spiders and other damselflies, and are prey to spiders and birds. Conspecific siege and interspecific interactions by perch were observed. No courtship was observed. During tandem, which lasted for 3–90 min, the ventral side of the male's abdominal segment 2 was in contact with the female's abdominal segments 8–10 until a wheel was formed. We observed three tandem pair combinations: sexually mature males and females, immature males with mature females, and imma...
International Journal of Odonatology, Mar 24, 2023
Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselfl... more Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselflies, studies on these interactions are scarce. Here, we describe the predatory behavior of Argiope trifasciata on the two most common odonate species in the study area, and whether various factors (web width, web length, spider body length, odonate body length, distance of the web from the edge of water body, and height of the web above ground) are related to the number of odonates captured. Argiope trifasciata employed stalking and frontal approaches as Odonata predation strategies. Our findings showed that larger Odonata are preyed upon by larger spiders. The greatest numbers of prey were caught in wider, higher webs, whereas narrow webs closer to the ground caught more small prey. Capturing success by A. trifasciata was similar in webs at different distances from the water for both species. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no relationship between capturing success in either prey species and the distance of the web from the water. Habitat architecture may be more important to this interaction, as vegetation attracts both spiders (for anchoring webs) and odonates (as perch sites).
Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselfl... more Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselflies, studies on these interactions are scarce. Here, we describe the predatory behavior of Argiope trifasciata on the two most common odonate species in the study area, and whether various factors (web width, web length, spider body length, odonate body length, distance of the web from the edge of water body, and height of the web above ground) are related to the number of odonates captured. Argiope trifasciata employed stalking and frontal approaches as Odonata predation strategies. Our findings showed that larger Odonata are preyed upon by larger spiders. The greatest numbers of prey were caught in wider, higher webs, whereas narrow webs closer to the ground caught more small prey. Capturing success by A. trifasciata was similar in webs at different distances from the water for both species. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no relationship between capturing success in either prey ...
Very little is known about the biology of larval odonates from the Neotropical region, and in par... more Very little is known about the biology of larval odonates from the Neotropical region, and in particular there are no data on behavioral changes during ontogeny and growth ratios, though both are crucial to understanding the dynamics of Odonata communities. Here we study growth ratio, development patterns and behavior of <i>Rhionaeschna marchali</i> larvae. We characterized larval instars using morphometric variables and describe their general behavior. Larvae were obtained from eggs laid by two females in the laboratory. They were maintained in individual containers until their emergence or death. Larvae hatched between 26 and 30 days after laying, and total development time was 340.5 (±5.9) days, with 15 instars. Growth ratios between successive instars averaged 1.12 for head width, 1.25 for head length, 1.20 for antenna length, 1.76 for forewing–pad length, 1.74 for hind wing–pad length, 1.19 for metafemur length and 1.22 for total length. <i>Rhionaeschna marcha...
The behavior of <i>Mesamphiagrion laterale</i> (Selys, 1876) is described based upon ... more The behavior of <i>Mesamphiagrion laterale</i> (Selys, 1876) is described based upon 2430 hours of observation. A total of 2820 individuals were observed for 270 days from 2014 to 2015 using mark-recapture. Probabilities of resight, highest reproductive activity, time-perch and time of perch-temperature were statistically analyzed. <i>Mesamphiagrion laterale</i> is not a territorial species, the individuals perch on grass, trees, garbage, ground, and rocks, they feed on hemipterans, mosquitoes, spiders and other damselflies, and are prey to spiders and birds. Conspecific siege and interspecific interactions by perch were observed. No courtship was observed. During tandem, which lasted for 3–90 min, the ventral side of the male's abdominal segment 2 was in contact with the female's abdominal segments 8–10 until a wheel was formed. We observed three tandem pair combinations: sexually mature males and females, immature males with mature females, and imma...
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Papers by Diego Palacino