Dragonflies and damselflies, belonging to the order Odonata, are known to be excellent fliers with versatile flight capabilities. The ability to fly over a wide range of speeds, high manoeuvrability and great agility are a few characteristics of their flight. The architecture of the wings and their structural elements have been found to play a major role in this regard. However, the precise inf...

Antagonistic phenotypic plasticity may strongly influence trait evolution in tightly interacting predator-prey pairs as well as the role that trait plasticity plays in community dynamics. Most work on trait plasticity has focused on single predator-prey pairs, but prey must often contend with multiple predators in natural environments. Hence, a better understanding of the evolutionary and ecolo...

The holotype of Libellulosoma minuta, until now regarded as the unique specimen of this monotypic genus and considered lost for half a century, was found again in the dragonfly collection of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. A second specimen, also from Madagascar (probably East Madagascar) was found in the collection René Martin together with the holotype. A redescription, inc...

A major challenge in ecology is understanding why certain species persist, while others decline, in response to environmental change. Trait-based comparative analyses are useful in this regard as they can help identify the key drivers of decline, and highlight traits that promote resistance to change. Despite their popularity trait-based comparative analyses tend to focus on explaining variatio...

Ecological coupling by material exchanges or dispersal between spatially distinct communities has important impacts on ecological processes, such as diversity stability relationships, ecosystem function, and food web dynamics. One important mode of coupling between ecosystems occurs via organisms with complex life histories, which often switch between distinct ecosystems during their life cycle...

Insect wings demonstrate elaborate three-dimensional deformations and kinematics. These deformations are key to understanding many aspects of insect flight including aerodynamics, structural dynamics and control. In this paper, we propose a template-based subdivision surface reconstruction method that is capable of reconstructing the wing deformations and kinematics of free-flying insects based...

The dorsal surfaces of the hindwings of the dragonfly Rhyothemis resplendens (Odonata: Libellulidae) reflect a deep blue from the multilayer structure in its wing membrane. The layers within this structure are not flat, but distinctly 'wrinkled', with a thickness of several hundred nanometres and interwrinkle crest distances of 5 µm and greater. A comparison between the backscattered light from...