Multiple-Choice Experiments on Dragonfly Polarotaxis

Kennedy (1917) gave an account of many individuals of the dragonfly Anax junius having been killed as a result of mistaking an open surface of crude oil for water. Puschnig (1926), Fraser (1936) and Whitehouse (1941) reported that dragonflies Ophiogomphus forcipatus, Ictinogomphus ferox, Macromia magnifica and several species of Chlorogomphus patrolled along asphalt roads instead of rivers and showed a typical water-touching behaviour above the asphalt surface. Kennedy (1938) cited cases in which dragonflies were attracted to pools of petroleum. Horvath and Zeil (1996) reported that dragonflies were deceived, attracted and trapped in large numbers by crude oil lakes in the desert of Kuwait. Horvath et al. (1998a) observed the same behaviour of dragonflies at a waste oil lake in Budapest (Fig. 19.1).