Agrionoptera insignis ( Rambur, 1842 )

Grand, Daniel, Marinov, Milen, Jourdan, Herve, Cook, Carl, Rouys, Sophie, Mille, Christian & Theuerkauf, Jörn, 2019, Distribution, habitats, phenology and conservation of New Caledonian Odonata, Zootaxa 4640 (1), pp. 1-112 : 73-75

Agrionoptera insignis ( Rambur, 1842)

( Fig. 76 )

Libellula insignis Rambur, 1842: 123 . Distribution ( Fig. 77 ). In the Pacific, various subspecies of A. insignis are recorded over a large area from New Guinea to Vanuatu ( Kimmins 1953). The species is mainly reported from off shore islands like Île des Pins ( Ris 1915) and the Loyalty Islands ( Ris 1909; Kimmins 1953). According to Davies (2002), it also occurs on Grande Terre. Without giving any precise locality he stated: ’scattered colonies varying in different seasons’.

Habitat. This species dwells in swamps, ponds and lakes.

Biology and behaviour. The larva was illustrated by Theischinger & Hawking (2006), but behavioural information is lacking.

Status. Available data are inadequate to establish its conservation status hence we class it as DD. More investigations on distribution of this species are necessary, but the center of occurrence should be in the northern part of Grande Terre, a region that has not been sufficiently investigated to date.

Figures

FIGURE 76. Agrionoptera insignis: a) male (O. Hébert), b) female, Australia (E. Nielsen).

FIGURE 77. Records of Agrionoptera insignis.