The dragonfly fauna of the Aude department (France): contribution of the ECOO 2014 post-congress field trip

Summary – After the third European Congress of Odonatology (ECOO) which took place from 11 to 17 July in Montpellier (France), 21 odonatologists from six countries participated in the week-long field trip that was organised in the Aude department. This area was chosen as it is undersurveyed and offered the participants the possibility to discover the Languedoc-Roussillon region and the dragonfly fauna of southern France. In summary, 43 sites were investigated involving 385 records and 45 dragonfly species. These records could be added to the regional database. No less than five species mentioned in the Habitats Directive (Coenagrion mercuriale, Gomphus flavipes, G. graslinii, Macromia splendens and Oxygastra curtisii) and three regionally important species (G. simillimus, Onychogomphus uncatus and Cordulegaster bidentata) could be observed and are discussed. Several populations of these species were discovered: G. graslinii and M. splendens, considered as very rare prior to our investigations, were especially found in the western Corbières and in the middle course of the Aude River. Furthermore many new populations of Oxygastra curtisii were detected. A small population of C. mercuriale was found in a drainage ditch in a peat land in the Montagne Noire at 850 m a.s.l, in the northern Aude. One of the most remarkable observations was the finding of an exuvia of G. flavipes along the Aude River, ca 30 km to the west from the hitherto only record of this species for the department, proving the extension of the range of this species to the southwest. Range extension was also highlighted for Trithemis annulata, another increasing species in Europe.