Dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta, Odonata) collected during student fieldwork practices of Sofia University in the vicinity of Sinemorets village, SE Bulgaria

The species composition of Odonata in Bulgaria is relatively well studied – 72 species are known for the country (Beschovski and Marinov 2007, Gainzarain 2017, Stefanov and Vasilev 2021), however, the data concerning the regional distribution is still incomplete. This research aims to identify the specimens, collected during student fieldwork practices of Sofia University in the vicinity of Sinemorets Village. The study area is characterized by coastal wetlands near the mouths of Veleka and Butamya rivers, which predisposes rich diversity of Odonata species, but targeted research of the group in this region has not been conducted until now. The material for the current study was collected by students during the months of June and July, 2022 – 2025. The collected specimens have been preserved in the Zoological collection of Sofia University (BFUS) (Suppl. material 1). The material was identified, based on adult morphology, according to Marinov (2000) and Beshovski (1994) and the label data – digitalized. As a result of our study, the following 17 species of five families were identified: Platycnemis pennipes (Pallas, 1771), Erythromma lindenii (Sélys, 1840), E . viridulum (Charpentier, 1840), Coenagrion puella (Linnaeus, 1758), Ischnura elegans (Vander Linden, 1820) (Coenagrionidae), Aeshna isosceles (Müller, 1767), Anax imperator Leach, 1815, A. parthenope (Sélys, 1839) (Aeshnidae), Onychogomphus forcipatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Gomphidae), Libellula depressa Linnaeus, 1758, Libellula fulva Müller, 1764, Orthetrum albistylum (Sélys, 1848), O. brunneum (Fonscolombe, 1848), O. cancellatum (Linnaeus, 1758), O. coerulescens (Fabricius, 1798), Crocothemis erythraea (Brullé, 1832), Sympetrum sanguineum (Müller, 1764) (Libellulidae). We can conclude that the diversity of Odonata, recorded in Sinemorets, represents around ¼ of the Bulgarian species and that student practices are valuable in researching regional fauna. Out of the collected material, most identified specimens are of the species Platycnemis pennipes with 70 out of 115 . From the genus Orthetrum Newman, 1833, all four species, known for the territory of Bulgaria, were found in the region. From the identified species, Erythromma lindenii , Aeshna isosceles and Anax parthenope are relatively rare in the country (Beshovski 1994).