Phenology and oviposition behaviour of Gynacantha bifida Rambur in Brazil (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae)

On 2 evenings in late Oct. 1999 several 5 ? were observed laying eggs in almost dry mud and sand and under mosses, within a temporary pond system, surrounded by rain forest, nr Tiradentes, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The ponds are filled with water during the rainy season (Oct. – March) but dry up entirely by the end of the dry season (Aug. – Sept.). Data compiled from field records, odonatological collections and literature showed that in Brazil G. bifida stays on the wing throughout the year. Apparently, the sp. possesses a univoltine life cycle with 2 generations of larvae, one during the warmer rainy season and another in the early dry season (Oct./Nov. – Jan./Feb. and Feb./March – May/June, respectively). Mud attached to the terminal abdominal segments of V specimens in odonatological collections was used as an evidence of an oviposition mode comparable to that observed in the field.