Dragonflies are a species from ancient times
Long before dinosaurs appeared, they flew in the sky
It is also a kind of elf where beauty and speed coexist
It is closely related to human survival
Today, the reporter learned from the Haikou Haolan Wetland Research Institute
On July 29, Wuyuanhe National Wetland Park
Amphibian and reptile monitoring project
The team found the red-bellied heterogeneous dragonfly
It set a new record for the Hainan Dragonfly
On the evening of July 29, red-bellied heterogeneous dragonflies were photographed near the Yongzhuang Reservoir in Wuyuanhe. Photo by Yuan Langxing
"This dragonfly is a little different"
The first to discover this particular dragonfly was Yuan Langxing, project director of the Haikou Haolan Wetland Research Institute.
Yuan Langxing, project director of Haikou Haikou Haolan Wetland Research Institute
At 10 p.m. on July 29, when we were doing a monitoring project at the Wuyuanhe Yongzhuang Reservoir, I saw this dragonfly parked motionless on a tree, which was very beautiful.
Photo by Yuan Langxing
Although he has participated in some dragonfly investigation projects, Yuan Langxing frankly said that he was a layman in the field of dragonflies, and found that this dragonfly looked different, but he could not say where it was different, so he took a few photos with his hand.
At that time, the project members all gathered around to watch this dragonfly with long wings, short lower abdomen, and a "red belly", and everyone speculated whether it was a reddish gray dragonfly or a gorgeous gray dragonfly?" I've seen those two dragonflies before, and the proportions of their bodies are different. After returning home, at first Yuan Langxing was not too relieved, until the next day when someone asked him to consult experts, Yuan Langxing was suspicious again.
Therefore, Yuan Langxing flipped through the "Land of Dragonflies and The Atlas of Hainan Dragonfly", compared two common similar species, and ruled out the previous speculation. Finally, on the last few pages of the book, he saw a dragonfly called "short-bellied dragonfly" that bore a striking resemblance to this dragonfly.
Is this dragonfly found in Wuyuanhe a short-bellied heterogeneous dragonfly? If not, what kind of species is that? Immediately, Yuan Langxing contacted Zhang Haomiao, the author of the "Land of Dragonflies and The Atlas of The Dragonfly of Hainan", a doctor of entomology.
"There is no doubt that this is a new record for the Hainan dragonfly species - the red-bellied heterodony."
Zhang Haomiao, who has the title of "big guy" in China's dragonfly circle, is now engaged in research on the taxonomy, ecology and phylogenetics of dragonflies at the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and in the past 20 years of field expeditions, his footprints have covered hundreds of nature reserves in Asia, Europe and Africa. He is very familiar with Hainan, has been here for more than ten years, published in the "Land of Dragonflies Hainan Dragonfly Atlas" shows the shape, habits and characteristics of common dragonflies on Hainan Island, "In the countless rivers and streams and lakes and wetlands of Hainan Island, the diversified freshwater habitat has bred 165 species of dragonflies, of which 22 species belong to Hainan Island. ”
After seeing Yuan Langxingfa's past pictures, Zhang Haomiao gave the answer, "There is no doubt that this is a new record for the Hainan dragonfly species - red-bellied dragonfly." ”
In a telephone interview with reporters, he told reporters that the original short-bellied heterogeneous dragonfly is now renamed as the red-bellied heterogeneous dragonfly, which is a tropical species that is widely distributed in Southeast Asia, and has also appeared in Yunnan and Hong Kong before.
Author of "The Land of Dragonflies" and Dr. Zhang Haomiao, Doctor of Entomology
In the more than ten years of investigating dragonflies in Hainan, we have not seen any trace of red-bellied dragonflies, and may not have found their habitat before. Considering that species have a natural diffusion process, the discovery of the red-bellied dragonfly may also be due to climate change and natural migration.
The importance of wetland monitoring
Lu Gang, director of Haikou Haikou Haoyu Wetland Research Institute
The species and number of dragonflies are an important indicator of the health status of wetlands, and dragonflies are one of the key monitoring objects in the Wuyuanhe National Wetland Ecological Monitoring Project.
The new record of dragonflies found in this monitoring, the red-bellied heterogeneous dragonfly, not only enriches the background resources of animals and plants in Hainan and Haikou, but also shows that Wuyuanhe has a good wetland habitat, which can provide habitats for many animals and plants.
This year is the second year of systematic monitoring of Wuyuanhe National Wetland Park. The two years of monitoring have allowed many people to see the important species that were not understood in the original background survey: the discovery of two rare aquatic animals such as the flower eel and the Japanese eel, which illustrates the health of the Wuyuanhe river ecosystem; the continuous discovery of new distribution points of water fern and wild rice shows that these important species have been well recuperated in the Wuyuan River; in terms of bird monitoring, the number of bee tigers tends to be stable, and new records of Hainan birds such as small swans and gray swallows have been found, and a more comprehensive understanding of the park has been obtained.
Flower eel. (Infographic)
Wild rice. (Infographic)
cygnet. (Infographic)
"Ecological monitoring can provide a basis for the protection, restoration and management of wetland parks, and is also a major need for creating an international wetland city with high standards, building a national wetland park, implementing wetland ecological protection, and practicing the national ecological civilization construction strategy." The relevant person in charge of the Haikou Wetland Protection and Management Center said that since July 2018, in order to timely grasp the current situation of the ecological environment and resource dynamic changes of the two national wetland parks of Haikou Meishe River and Wuyuanhe, haikou Wetland Protection and Management Center entrusted haikou Haolan Wetland Research Institute to carry out monitoring of Haikou Wuyuanhe and Meishehe National Wetland Parks.
"Wuyuanhe National Wetland Park still has many secrets waiting for us to understand, which requires professional and systematic monitoring to be able to continuously understand and master." Wetland parks in the city, the ecosystem is constantly recovering. After the ecological restoration work of the park, how effective it is; environmental factors, species conditions, and changes with the construction and management of the park, these need to be reflected through continuous monitoring. "These monitoring work can also provide scientific basis and direct guidance for the future management and protection of wetland parks, and provide materials and content for science education." Lu Gang said.
Popular Science Link: Red-bellied Dragonfly: A pilot with a "red belly"
Red-bellied heterogeneous dragonfly (aethriamanta brevipennis)
Arthropods, insects, dragonflies. The red-bellied isolong is 27–29 mm long, the ventral length is 16–19 mm, and the hindwings are 24–25 mm long. Males have dark brown compound eyes, blue-black face, metallic luster on the forehead; black on the back of the thorax, lateral yellowish brown, black feet, a very small red spot at the end of the hindfoot leg segment, reddish-brown spots on the base of the hindwings; bright red on the abdomen, short and stout. Females are predominantly yellowish brown ; hindsfoot leg segments have a very small yellow spot at the ends ; and the abdomen is yellow with black stripes.
It inhabits ponds where water hyacinth breeds below 500 m above sea level, and the flight period is from March to December. It is only distributed in Dehong, Xishuangbanna, and Hong Kong in Yunnan, and in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and Thailand.
Original title: Haikou Wuyuan River found red-bellied dragonfly! A new record for The Hainan Dragonfly