Colour polymorphism in femaleCoenagrion puella:differences in egg shape (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

The maintenance of female colour polymorphism in coenagrionids is still an open issue. Here we ask if the three different female morphs of Coenagrion puella represent different reproductive traits in terms of clutch and egg size. Therefore clutch size and egg morphometry of the three female colour morphs were examined. We found that female colour morphs did not differ in clutch or egg size. However, we also found that the female morphs differ in egg shape, with the intermediate morph having more elongated eggs compared to the hetero- and and romorphic females. Our results are discussed in terms of potential different preferences in oviposition substrate.