The Odonata of Kosrae , Eastern Caroline Islands , Micronesia !

A recent collection of 69 specimens together with survey counts and incidental observations during June-July 2002 provide new information on the odonate fauna of Kosrae, Micronesia. The fauna comprises one zygopteran (Isehnura aurora) and six anisopterans. It appears to have remained stable with no known extinctions or colonizations over the past half century. The fauna is nearly a subset of that of Pohnpei and the islands to the west, and it comprises six widespread weedy species and one endemic, Hemieordulia erieo. Upland aquatic habitats appear largely unexploited or underutilized by odonates, and the absence of any Teinobasis species on Kosrae is in marked contrast to the presence of six species on the nearest high island, Pohnpei. THE ODONATE FAUNA of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has been largely unstudied since Lieftinck's (1962) comprehensive review of populations in greater Micronesia, including Palau, the Marianas, and the Marshall Islands. In the only other studies of Odonata in the FSM, Schreiner and Nafus (1989) commented briefly on species they encountered during surveys of aquatic insects on Yap in September 1988, and Paulson (2003) and Paulson and Buden (2003) reviewed the status of populations on Pohnpei based largely on collections and observations during 2001-2002. The study reported here is an extension of these more recent investigations and focuses on Kosrae, the easternmost island in the FSM. Summary ofOdonate Studies on Kosrae Lieftinck (1962) recorded seven species of odonates on Kosrae, including one damselfly (Zygoptera) and six dragonflies (Anisoptera). I Manuscript accepted 19 February 2003. 2 Division of Science and Mathematics, College of Micronesia-FSM, P.O. Box 159, Kolonia, Pohnpei FM 96941 (E-mail: [email protected]). 3 Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington 98416 (E-mail: