Meeting Abstract
One commonly known characteristic of Odonates is that they possess a great variety of color polymorphisms both within and between species and sexes. The visual system should then be appropriately adapted through the process of natural selection to receive these color signals and the individual should act accordingly. The Blackline Hawaiian Damselfly, Megalagrion nigrohamatum nigrolineatum, is in contention for possessing the most color polymorphisms of any odonate. We show here that the wide variety of chromatisms displayed by M.n.n reaches to nearly 20 different color combinations. Are these differences in coloration of any ecological significance? Are damselflies using the colors they perceive to make an informed decision on what behavioral response they should elicit? We tested these questions by presenting artificial stimuli that mimicked conspecific males and females to perching male damselflies in the field and noting their behavioral response which was classified as either attack, track, avoid, or no response. The results here show that this damselfly does in fact respond differently to the variety of colors that were presented to them, suggesting that body coloration is a meaningful, important signal.
