[Odonata-l] Fliers vs Perchers database for North American species?

[aardila@uoguelph.ca]

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your reply. I think that maybe I used the wrong word and  
I should have described it as flight strategy instead of mode. What I  
would like to learn more about is about the classification of Odonata  
according to Corbet's definition on his books (1962 and 1996) and a  
publications by May (1981). Corbet kept almost the same definition in  
both books. I quote him at the end of this email from his 1962 book. I  
notice that Corbet said that when "active" one can call them flyiers.  
And now you mention that they are rather "hungers". I collected lots  
of species in the past 2 years, and from my experience I would agree  
with you. I had not thought about it that way.

Is there an article, book, or any other reference that talks more  
about that ("hungers")? Corbet mentions in his book that perchers  
spend 95% of the time perching.

Is there an estimate for how much time "hungers" are at rest if they  
are not flying all the time?

I realize they are often up in the trees and data on this may be very  
scarce. I also wonder about "gliders", they are perchers that are on  
the wing a lot of the time, and they are often considered "fliers". Do  
odonatologist keep them separate from "hungers" ("fliers")?

Lastly, I am really curious as to what happens with Nehalennia  
species. They are so small, but some of them are so widely dispersed.  
How much do they really fly?

Thank you everyone in advance for any guidance and comments,

Alex


PS. Percher flier quotes:

"Most perchers are diurnal and belong to the Zygoptera, Petaluridae,  
Gomphiidae and Libellulidae.” (Corbet 1962, p 129)

“With regard to their means of thermoregulation, we can recognize two  
types of Odonata: those which, when active, remain constantly on the  
wing; and those which spend most of the active period on a perch from  
which they make short flights. Dragonflies of the first type may be  
called “fliers” and those of the second “perchers”. (...) A number of  
species in warmer regions appear to have overcome this difficulty by  
hyperdevelopment of the anal field of the hind-wing. This enables them  
to glide during sunshine (Hawking, 1921) and thus to remain airborne  
at the expense of minimum activity of the wing muscles. Such  
dragonflies may be termed “gliders”, are for the most part migrants,  
and this economy is of the greatest importance to them in pursuing  
their way of life" (Corbet 1960, page 126)

"Aeshnids, Corduliids, Macromiids and trameine libellulids are all  
fliers" (May, 1981). Allometry of male anisoptera. Odonatologica.


-- 
Alex Ardila-Garcia
MSc Candidate
Genomic Diversity Lab
Dept. Integrative Biology
University of Guelph
Guelph (On), Canada
N1G 2W1
1-519-824-4120 ext.52548
http://www.genomesize.com/gregorylab/



Quoting "O'Brien, Mark" <mfobrien at umich.edu>:

> Well, you said flight mode, and then talk about perching...   What you
> are asking has more to do with reproductive behavior and feeding and
> less to do flight modes.   The Corduliids, Macromiids and
> Cordulegastrids are not considered perchers, but more like "hangers" --
> same as a  lot of Aeshnids.  If you were to see any of these groups in
> flight, you would see that they rarely alight except when resting and in
> inclement weather.
>
> Mark
>
> Mark F. O'Brien, Collections Manager
> Insect Division, Museum of Zoology
> University of Michigan
> (734)647-2199
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: odonata-l-bounces at listhost.ups.edu
> [mailto:odonata-l-bounces at listhost.ups.edu] On Behalf Of
> aardila at uoguelph.ca
> Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2008 10:10 PM
> To: odonata-l at listhost.ups.edu
> Subject: [Odonata-l] Fliers vs Perchers database for North American
> species?
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I wonder if there is a database describing the flight mode of North
> American Odonata. I have read Zygopterans are almost all considered
> perchers, as well as Gomphiidae and Libellulidae, while Aeshnids are
> fliers. There are exceptions in libellulids such as members of Tramea.
>
> Is there a database listing exceptions? What about the flight mode for
> members of Cordulegastridae, Cordulidae and Macromiidae? For example:
>
> Cordulegaster maculata
> Cordulia shurtleffi
> Dorocordulia libera
> Didymops transversa
> Macromia illionensis georgina
> Epitheca canis
> Neurocordulia yamaskanensis
> Somatochlora williamsoni
>
> I also wonder about members of Nehalennia. They are so small and they
> seem to hop from leaf to leaf rather than flying...
>
> Thank you in advance for any guidance in the topic,
>
> Cheers,
>
> Alex
> --
> Alex Ardila-Garcia
> MSc Candidate
> Genomic Diversity Lab
> Dept. Integrative Biology
> University of Guelph
> Guelph (On), Canada
> N1G 2W1
> 1-519-824-4120 ext.52548
> http://www.genomesize.com/gregorylab/
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Odonata-l mailing list
> Odonata-l at listhost.ups.edu
> https://mailweb.ups.edu/mailman/listinfo/odonata-l
>
>