Territorial competition in dragonfly larvae (Odonata)

Territorial competition, which is not associated with sex and age of individuals, is found to be characteristic of all the studied species. Deficit of refuges and cannibalism are the factors of developing territorial competition in dragonfly larvae, which is species-specific and plastic. It is mainly related to the density of the local group. Under stress the form of territorial competition can be substituted by another one, for instance, by aggregations. In larvae of the last instar a special form of territorial competition is related to sex of individuals. This form is a precursor of territorial interrelations of image in these hemimetabolic insects.