Longevity and mobility of adult Calopteryx maculata (Beauvois, 1805) (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

Average adult life span including an 11 day teneral period was 16-20 days for males and females, with a maximum of 47 days. Longevity estimates were not significantly altered by increasing the area censused for marked adults from 30 m to 1,128 m, indicating that dispersal was not affecting the estimation of longevity. Most males were territorial, many remaining in the same place up to eight days. Females were rarely found in the same place on consecutive days and their average mobility was greater than that of most males. Maximum movement between days was 122 m for females and 536 m for males. Nonterritorial males in some populations of Calopteryx are probably individuals unable to acquire territories when there are more males in an area than territory sites. In C. maculata these males quickly occupy opposition sites added to an area and become territorial at them.