Abstract
A study on the reproductive biology and behaviour of the regional critically endangered Urothemis edwardsii Selys was conducted in the relict subpopulation of Lake Bleu (North-east Algeria) during the reproductive season of 2012. The reproductive behaviour was described from the pair formation to the end of oviposition. Copulation duration was 98.55 ± 16.48 s, and the whole oviposition episode lasted 220.89 ± 32.08 s with usually three bouts interrupted by three rest periods. The species displayed a particular oviposition behaviour characterized by an alternation of contact (during the first bout) and non-contact guarding. The induced clutch size was 646.33 ± 173.10 eggs. In the laboratory, eggs showed direct embryonic development and synchronous egg hatching within the modal period of 10 days ranging between nine and 24 days. The overall hatching success was 85.39%, the main causes of mortality being infertility and unhatchability.
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