Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)
Phylum Arthropoda 89 The intensive collection in the Őrség district showed the presence of 50 dragonfly species, 48 of them being found in adult and 3 6 in nymph state or exuvial form (AMBRUS et al. 1995a). One migrant species from the Őrség district worth mentioning is Hemianax ephippiger, of which a small flock was observed at the Vadasa II reservoir in 1992, where breeding in Hungary was first demonstrated (AMBRUS et al. 1995a, 1996a and 1996b). Also notable is the occurrence of the highly endangered Aeshna viridis near Sopron (TÓTH 1987a), although the terrain is not expressly characteristic of the species. Cordulegaster bidentatus is known only from six localities in Hungary. Unfortunately, the locality on the upper reaches of the Szerdahely Brook in the Kőszeg Hills was badly damaged by timber production and it is unclear whether the population there survived. Another species from the same genus, C. hews, is known only from three localities in Transdanubia, two of them in the West Hungarian border region (Sopron and the Őrség). The region contains Gomphidae populations of European importance. All four Gomphida species that occur in Hungary can be found on the Rába. A communication of Hungarian occurrence data for the creeping water bug Aphelochirus aestivalis also gives reports from the West Hungarian border region of rare dragonfly species (Calopteryx virgo, Stylurus flavipes, Ophiogomphus cecilia and Onychogomphus forcipatus —AMBRUS et al. 1995b). The young research team of ANDRÁS AMBRUS, KÁROLY BÁNKUTI and TIBOR KOVÁCS have continued to survey and publish the dragonfly fauna of the West Hungarian border region (AMBRUS et al. 1996b, 1998a and 1998b). One of their communications (AMBRUS et al. 1998b) reports occurrences of Brachytron pratense and Libellula fulva, which are new to the regional fauna. Their investigations have extended to Burgenland as well (AMBRUS et al. 1996c). Examination of the Rába has continued to receive emphasis: nymphs of nine rare species were found in the river in 1997-2000 (Calopteryx splendens, C. virgo, Platycnemis pennipes, Ischnura elegáns pontica, Stylurus flavipes, Gomphus vulgatissimus, Ophiogomphus cecilia, Onychogomphus forcipatus and Libellula depressa). Of these, nymphs of C. splendens, P. pennipes, G. vulgatissimus and O. cecilia have been found in the Hungarian stretch of the Lapines as well (KOVÁCS and AMBRUS 2001a). According to the records so far, 53 dragonfly species are known in the Őrség and Kerka district, including 15 of the 23 protected and 5 of the strictly protected species (KOVÁCS and AMBRUS 2002a). TIBOR VIZSLÁN and BEÁTA PINGITZER searched in Transdanubia in 1999 and 2000, mainly in Győr-Moson-Sopron and Fejér counties, collecting over 5500 specimens of 40 species (VIZSLÁN 2000; VIZSLÁN and PINGITZER 2001). Another paper of theirs gives occurrence data from Csörnöc-Herpenyő near Vasvár in 1998 (VIZSLÁN and PINGITZER 1999). It has to be emphasized again here that the associations of mayfly, stonefiy and dragonfly species in the Őrség and Kerka district, along with the caddis flies, make this the most valuable area for aquatic insects in the country and of importance in European terms. The earliest data from the area that became the Fertő-Hanság National Park
