The genus Euthore Selys in Venezuela, with special notes on Euthore fasciata (Hagen, 1853) (Zygoptera: Polythoridae)

In Venezuela the genus Euthore is represented by three species, all of them described from this country. The three species are montane and occur at altitudes between 1000 and 2000 meters above sea level. E. f. fasciata and E. meridana Sel. are found in the Venezuelan Andes. The first one inhabits the Sierra de Perijá, Zulia State, and the Cordillera de la Costa Central (Aragua and Miranda States and Federal District). E. meridana has been caught in the Andes of Mérida and in the Sierra de Terepaima, Mérida and Lara State, respectively. E. montgomeryi Rácenis is restricted to the Guayanan Highlands, Bolívar State. According to MONTGOMERY (1967) E. plagiata Sel. should be considered a synonym of fasciata. E. plagiata was described from Rio Negro, Brazil. However, taking into account the Andean distribution of fasciata, and the fact that only one female and no male of plagiata is known, plagiata may indeed be a valid species. Little is known of the ecology and behaviour of the Polythoridae in general. During the past three years, however, many excursions into “El Avila” National Park due North of Caracas in the Coastal Cordillera, have been carried out. Populations of E. fasciata live in several canyons on the southern slope (the northern slope has so far not been checked). Only during the rainy season, from May to November, did I find the species in any abundance. In the dry season one may see only single specimens, if any. The canyons where E. fasciata lives, are covered with gallery forest, which at higher elevations becomes transitional to cloud forest. The species has a particular micro-habitat which is normally confined to patches of a few square meters each. This habitat is found mostly on steep slopes, parallel to the main stream, where minuscule rivulets and seeping water are constantly dripping and keeping rocks, earth, roots and small plants wet. The males settle here near the ground in the sun, awaiting females. Sometimes they fly up, chasing away other males, but often two or three of them are found together, at least as long as the sun is shining on the spot. In cloudy weather the males settle higher onto bushes. – Territoriality is not well developed and the males often change from one patch to another. A possible explanation for this behaviour can be seen in the fact that the micro-habitat is not continuous in space, and the few sunny spots on the bottom of the forest are constantly wandering with the moving sun, coinciding only for a short time with patches of suitable habitat.