Image of Autumn Meadowhawk

Description:

"1. Scientific & Common Name(s) Sympetrum vicinum is commonly known as the autumn meadowhawk or the yellow-legged meadowhawk. (""The News Journal of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas."") This is also known as a variation of the common dragonfly. 2. Habitat & Geographic Range This organism resides in wooded areas near marshes, lakes, and/or ponds. (LeGrand) These ponds must be permanent all year and have flowing water. (Winchell) S. vicinum is found throughout North America. Specifically, in most areas within the United States excluding ranges in the northern Rocky Mountains, peninsular Florida, the gulf coasts of Louisiana and Texas, and the desert in the southwest. (Winchell) Within Canada, they are found in southeastern and extreme southwest regions. (Winchell) 3. Size /Weight & Lifespan The average mass for S. vicinum is 5.5g with a size range of 26-35mm and a wingspan of 21-23mm. The typical lifespan is approximately 1 year. (Winchell) In larvae, the average size was 4mm. (Nevin) 4. Diet The Autumn Meadowhawk is an insectivore that feeds primarily on insects, crustaceans, zooplankton, and aquatic or marine worms. The larvae of this species eats water fleas, burrowing files, and climbing flies. (Winchell) 5. Reproduction & Communication Autumn Meadowhawks performs copulation in oviposition; where the male holds the female in tandem while in the air. (Mcmillan) Mating season typically takes place during the autumn seasons. Due to the colder weather, oviposition usually occurs in sunny areas due to heat loss while the pair is in flight. (May) During pre-copulation, males will grasp the female with their appendages around their necks and head. The male then bends his abdomen and performs a series of pre-copulatory genital touches. In response to this action, females have the choice of continuing with the copulation, or refusing to respond. If she does not respond, the male may spend hours holding the female. (Córdoba-Aguilar) * Once copulation is achieved the pair may circle around the perimeter of the pond to scan for any predators that may interrupt oviposition. (Mcmillan) The mates then perform dipping, where the male repeatedly dips the female’s abdomen. (Mcmillan) The abdomen is dipped into the pond, mud, or surrounding vegetation in order to dislodge the emerging eggs onto a surface. (Córdoba-Aguilar) While observing other pairs performing dipping, unpaired mates will fly towards the pair and copulate in the same area. (Mcmillan) This is possibly due to the absence of predators already observed by the original pair, thus making the area safe. Males however will not interrupt already occurring oviposition happening between paired mates. (Mcmillan) Nevertheless, male dragonflies (odonata) are territorial and will display acts of aggression towards other dragonflies. (Moore) 6. Predation: Does the animal have any predators? S. vicinum has many natural predators found in similar aquatic environments and riparian zones. This includes many species of fish, swamp snakes, other dragonflies, mantises, birds, frogs, and turtles. (Winchell) There are species of parasites that prey on the S. vicinum such as the chironomid fly larvae. Other species such as Spiroxys contortus* use odonata as intermediate hosts to prey on turtles. (Winchell) 7. Conservation Status Currently, there is no conservational concern for the species. (Winchell) This is due to the abundancy of the species; many lists of threatened organisms have no special status on this insect. It is ranked N5 in Canada by the NatureServe database meaning the organism is abundant and secure. (""Sympetrum Vicinum."") 8. Did You Know? During the Paleozoic era, it was hypothesised that insects, including dragonfly species, grew to the size of seagulls due to the high atmospheric oxygen levels. (Harrison) There are research supporting the gigantism theory within insects along with isotopic evidence in hypoxia during that time period. The loss of these large insect species is hypothesized due to the Permian extinction where a large loss of insect diversity was observed through fossil records. (Harrison) Literature Cited ""Sympetrum Vicinum."" NatureServe. N.p., Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . ""The News Journal of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas."" ARGIA 3rd ser. 16 (2004): n. pag. Dragonfly Society of the Americas, 20 Nov. 2004. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . Córdoba-Aguilar, Alex. Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. Harrison, J. F., A. Kaiser, and J. M. Vandenbrooks. ""Atmospheric Oxygen Level and the Evolution of Insect Body Size."" Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277.1690 (2010): 1937-946. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . LeGrand, Harry E., Jr., and Thomas E. Howard, Jr. ""The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina."" (2016): n. pag. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . May, Michael L. ""Body Temperature Regulation In A Late-Season Dragonfly, Sympetrum Vicinum (Odonata: Libellulidae)."" International Journal of Odonatology 1.1 (1998): 1-13. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . Mcmillan, Victoria E. ""Aggregating Behavior During Oviposition in the Dragonfly Sympetrum Vicinum (Hagen) (Odonata: Libellulidae)."" The American Midland Naturalist 144.1 (2000): 11-18. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . Moore, N.w. ""On the So-Called ""Territories"" of Dragonflies (Odonata-Anisoptera)."" Behaviour 4.1 (1951): 85-99. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . Nevin, F. Reese. ""Larval Development of Sympetrum Vicinum (Odonata: Libellulidae; Sympetrini)."" Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1890-) 55.2 (1929): 79-102. JSTOR. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. . Winchell, Joshua. ""Sympetrum Vicinum."" Animal Diversity Web. N.p.: n.p., 2003. Web. 23 Oct. 2016. ."