La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Plant preference during oviposition in the endangered dragonfly Lestes macrostigma (Odonata: Zygoptera) and consequences for its conservation
Auteurs :	Philippe Lambret ; A. Besnard ; N. Matushkina
Publisher :	J Insect Conserv 19:741-752
Type de document :	Article
Année de publication :	2015
Langues:	Anglais
Mots-clés :	TdV ; Camargue ; Insecta ; Odonata ; Lestidae ; Lestes macrostigma ; Plantae ; Juncus maritimus ; Bolboschoenus maritimus ; Oeuf ; Reproduction ; Zone humide
Résumé :	Biotic and abiotic features impact the breeding success of animals and thereby induce selection pressures for habitat selection. Little is known about the plant selection by predatory insects which lay their eggs within plants. In previous work, the authors have highlighted that during oviposition males of Lestes macrostigma—an endangered dragonfly species—prefer to land on Bolboschoenus maritimus and dead shoots of Juncus maritimus but disfavour living shoots in that species, and that females seem to prefer dead material during substrate examination. In this study the authors assessed behavioural preference in females during substrate examination, substrates suitability for oviposition, the effort females had to make to lay their eggs and their resulting oviposition rate. We show L. macrostigma has a preference for B. maritimus and, albeit to a lesser extent, for dead substrates.

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