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.
Aeshna isoceles is a small hawker dragonfly that is found in Europe, mostly around the Mediterranean, and the lowlands of North Africa. Its common name in English is green-eyed hawker. In Britain it is a rare and local species and is known as the Norfolk hawker. It has a brown colour with green eyes and clear wings and also a yellow triangular mark on the second abdominal segment which gave rise to its scientific name. It used to be in the genus Anaciaeschna as it has several differences from the other members of the genus Aeshna. Its specific name is often spelt isosceles.
The common whitetail or long-tailed skimmer is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body, combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female Libellula pulchella, the twelve-spotted skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller size, shorter bodies, and white zigzag abdominal stripes; the abdominal stripes of L. puchella are straight and yellow.
The migrant hawker is one of the smaller species of hawker dragonflies. It can be found away from water but for breeding it prefers still or slow-flowing water and can tolerate brackish sites. The flight period is from July to the end of October. A. mixta occurs in North Africa, southern and central Europe to the Baltic region.
The red-veined darter or nomad is a dragonfly of the genus Sympetrum.
Libellula depressa, the broad-bodied chaser or broad-bodied darter, is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.
The common darter is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae native to Eurasia. It is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe, occurring in a wide variety of water bodies, though with a preference for breeding in still water such as ponds and lakes. In the south of its range adults are on the wing all year round.
Libellula quadrimaculata, known in Europe as the four-spotted chaser and in North America as the four-spotted skimmer, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae found widely throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
The Hine's emerald is an endangered dragonfly species found in the United States and Canada. Populations exist in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ontario, and Wisconsin. Larvae are found in shallow, flowing water in fens and marshes, and often use crayfish burrows. Major threats to the species include habitat loss and alteration, and the species is legally protected in both the United States and Canada.
The flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America.
Pantala flavescens, the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider, is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet, with good population on every continent except Antarctica, although rare in Europe. Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km ; to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km —one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
Erythemis simplicicollis, the eastern pondhawk, also known as the common pondhawk, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is a dragonfly of ponds and still waters. The species is distinguished in that the female is bright green with a banded abdomen and the mature male has a blue abdomen with a green face and green and blue thorax.
Sympetrum pedemontanum, the banded darter, is a dragonfly belonging to the genus Sympetrum. It is characterized by its small stature, dark wing bands, and red or yellow body. It lives in areas with low vegetation and stagnant or weakly flowing bodies of water. Although debate exists regarding the taxa's relationship to others in its genus, it can most commonly be identified by its wing bands, bilobed prothorax, and possibly its genitalia.
Somatochlora, or the striped emeralds, is a genus of dragonflies in the family Corduliidae with 42 described species found across the Northern Hemisphere.
Somatochlora sahlbergi, the treeline emerald, is a species of dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It is found at high latitudes across northern Eurasia and North America, and occurs farther north than any other dragonfly.
Trithemis annulata, commonly known as the violet dropwing, violet-marked darter, purple-blushed darter, or plum-coloured dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in most of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. These dragonflies are called dropwings because of their habit of immediately lowering their wings after landing on a perch. Males of this species are violet-red with red veins in the wings, while females are yellow and brown. Both sexes have red eyes.
The desert whitetail is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. P. subornata is often put into the genus Libellula.
Sympetrum madidum, the red-veined meadowhawk, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.
Chalcolestes viridis, formerly Lestes viridis, is a damselfly of the family Lestidae. It has a metallic green body and at rest it holds its wings away from its body. Its common name is the willow emerald damselfly, the green emerald damselfly, or the western willow spreadwing. It has an elongated abdomen and pale brown spots on its wings and resides in areas of still water with overhanging trees.
The blue corporal, also known as little corporal, is a dragonfly in the Libellulidae, or skimmer family. First described as Libellula deplanata by Jules Pierre Rambur in 1842, it is common across much of the eastern United States.
