Seasonal Migration of Pantala flavescens Across the Bohai Strait in Northern China

Pantala flavescens (Fabricius 1798) (Odonata: Libellulidae) is one of the most common species of migratory dragonflies. P. flavescens adults were captured by a searchlight trap on Beihuang Island (BH Island; 38 degrees 24'N, 120 degrees 55'E) from 2003 to 2016, where there is no freshwater. This inspired our research to analyze the pattern of seasonal migration and population dynamics. Stable hydrogen isotope measurement and the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) were used to simulate the migration pathway of P. flavescens between different breeding habitats. The results showed that there was no significant difference among population numbers of this overseas migration across years (F-13,F- 2161 = 0.85, P = 0.604); however, the numbers were significantly different across months (F-5,F- 2161 = 3.91, P = 0.003). Our geospatial natal assignment model suggested that P. flavescens trapped on BH were originated in different geographical regions and might have three movement strategies: wandering around northern China and north-bound (positive) and south-bound (negative) movements. Among them, the majority were engaged in wandering around northern China. Model simulations suggested that P. flavescens toured around BH. The results contribute to the knowledge of P. flavescens population ecology in a large-scale geographic region and will aid in the prediction and interpretation of insect migration patterns in response to climate change.