Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. The two major groups are distinguished with dragonflies (Anisoptera) usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and wings folded together along body at rest. Adult odonates can land and perch, but rarely walk.
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterised by a pair of large, multifaceted, compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each.
The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal alternative, since the heteropterans are most consistently and universally termed "bugs" among the Hemiptera. "Heteroptera" is Greek for "different wings": most species have forewings with both membranous and hardened portions ; members of the primitive sub-group Enicocephalomorpha have completely membranous wings.
The petaltails of the family Petaluridae are among the most ancient of the extant true dragonflies, having fossil members from as early as the Jurassic, over 150 million years ago. A 2024 molecular phylogeny found that the petaltails comprise two clades, a Gondwanan clade and a Laurasian clade. Their divergence time was estimated at 160 million years ago.
Holometabola, also known as Endopterygota, is a superorder of insects within the infraclass Neoptera that go through distinctive larval, pupal, and adult stages. They undergo a radical metamorphosis, with the larval and adult stages differing considerably in their structure and behaviour. This is called holometabolism, or complete metamorphism.
The Chironomoidea are a superfamily within the order Diptera, suborder Nematocera, infraorder Culicomorpha. This superfamily contains the families Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae.
Libellula is a genus of dragonflies, called chasers or skimmers, in the family Libellulidae. They are distributed throughout the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Many have showy wing patterns.
Cicadomorpha is an infraorder of the insect order Hemiptera which contains the cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, and spittlebugs. There are approximately 35,000 described species worldwide. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, and many produce either audible sounds or substrate vibrations as a form of communication. The earliest fossils of cicadomorphs first appear during the Late Permian.
Ptychopteromorpha is a taxonomic group within the suborder Nematocera consisting of two uncommon families. In older classifications, these families were included within the infraorder Tipulomorpha, based on superficial similarities. The inclusion of the families Tanyderidae and Ptychopteridae was based on the foldability of the last tarsomere in males. Molecular studies show no close relationship between the Tanyderidae and the Ptychopteridae, and support for this grouping is limited.
Psocomorpha is a suborder of barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice in the order Psocodea. There are more than 20 families and 5,300 described species in Psocomorpha.
Trogiomorpha is one of the three major suborders of barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice in the order Psocodea, alongside Troctomorpha and Psocomorpha. There are about 8 families and more than 430 described species in Trogiomorpha. Trogiomorpha is widely agreed to be the earliest diverging of the three suborders, and retains the most primitive characteristics.
Troctomorpha is one of the three major suborders of Psocodea (barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice), alongside Psocomorpha and Trogiomorpha. There are more than 30 families and 5,800 described species in Troctomorpha. The order includes parasitic lice, which are most closely related to the booklice family Liposcelididae.
Plathemis is a small genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. It has been considered a synonym of Libellula, subgenus, or separate genus by different authorities. Recent phylogenetic analysis has supported its status as either a subgenus or a full genus.
Homilopscocidea is an infraorder of Psocodea. It is probably a paraphyletic group, still in use for lack of a better solution. There are about 7 families and more than 1,200 described species in Homilopsocidea.
The Odonatoptera are a superorder of ancient winged insects, placed in the probably paraphyletic group Palaeoptera. The dragonflies and damselflies are the only living members of this group, which was far more diverse in the late Paleozoic and contained gigantic species, including the griffinflies of the order Meganisoptera. This lineage dates back at least to the Bashkirian, not quite 320 million years ago.
Epiophlebia is a genus of damsel-dragonfly native to the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is the only living genus of Odonata to neither be a dragonfly nor a damselfly. It is the sole member of the family Epiophlebiidae, which is itself the sole living representative of the infraorder Epiophlebioptera.
Libelluloidea is a superfamily of dragonflies.
Epiophlebia superstes, the Japanese relict dragonfly, is one of the four species of the genus Epiophlebia, belonging to the family Epiophlebiidae, which is itself the sole living representative of the epiproctan infraorder Epiophlebioptera.
The Stenophlebiidae is an extinct family of medium-sized to large fossil odonates from the Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous period that belongs to the damsel-dragonfly grade ("anisozygopteres") within the stem group of Anisoptera. They are characterized by their long and slender wings, and the transverse shape of the discoidal triangles in their wing venation.
