Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. The two groups are distinguished with dragonflies 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.
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. Damselflies have existed since the Late Jurassic, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
In biology, a nymph is the juvenile form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes gradual metamorphosis (hemimetabolism) before reaching its adult stage. Unlike a typical larva, a nymph's overall form already resembles that of the adult, except for a lack of wings and the emergence of genitalia. In addition, while a nymph moults, it never enters a pupal stage. Instead, the final moult results in an adult insect. Nymphs undergo multiple stages of development called instars.
Hemimetabolism or hemimetaboly, also called partial metamorphosis and paurometabolism, is the mode of development of certain insects that includes three distinct stages: the egg, nymph, and the adult stage, or imago. These groups go through gradual changes; there is no pupal stage. The nymph often has a thin exoskeleton and resembles the adult stage but lacks wings and functional reproductive organs. The hemimetabolous insects differ from ametabolous taxa in that the one and only adult instar undergoes no further moulting.
The Exopterygota, also known as Hemimetabola, are a superorder of insects of the subclass Pterygota in the infraclass Neoptera, in which the young resemble adults but have externally developing wings. They undergo a modest change between immature and adult, without going through a pupal stage. The nymphs develop gradually into adults through a process of moulting.
The red-veined darter or nomad is a dragonfly of the genus Sympetrum.
Coenagrionidae or are a family of damselflies, also known as pond damselfies, in the order Odonata and the suborder Zygoptera. The Zygoptera are the damselflies, which although less known than the dragonflies, are no less common. More than 1,300 species are in this family, making it the largest damselfly family. The family Coenagrionidae has six subfamilies: Agriocnemidinae, Argiinae, Coenagrioninae, Ischnurinae, Leptobasinae, and Pseudagrioninae.
The Calopterygidae are a family of damselflies, in the suborder Zygoptera. They are commonly known as the broad-winged damselflies, demoiselles, or jewelwings. These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 50–80 mm, are often metallic-coloured, and can be differentiated from other damselflies by the broader connection between the wings and the body, as opposed to the abrupt narrowing seen in other damselfly families. The family contains some 150 species.
The Lestidae are a rather small family of cosmopolitan, large-sized, slender damselflies, known commonly as the spreadwings or spread-winged damselflies.
Megaloprepus caerulatus, also known as the blue-winged helicopter, is a forest giant damselfly of the family Coenagrionidae. Forest giant damselflies were previously recognized as their own family, Pseudostigmatidae. M. caerulatus is found in wet and moist forests in Central and South America. It has the greatest wingspan of any living damselfly or dragonfly, up to 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in the largest males. Its large size and the markings on its wings make it a conspicuous species; a hovering Megaloprepus has been described as a "pulsating blue-and-white beacon".
Hetaerina is a genus of damselflies in the family Calopterygidae. They are commonly known as rubyspots because of the deep red wing bases of the males. The name is from Ancient Greek: ἑταίρα (hetaira), courtesan. H. rudis, the Guatemalan rubyspot, is considered vulnerable on the IUCN Red Data List.
Paraphlebia is a genus of flatwings in the damselfly family Thaumatoneuridae. It was formerly in the subfamily Argiolestinae of the family Megapodagrionidae, but was moved to the family Thaumatoneuridae as a result of molecular phylogenetic studies by Dijkstra et al. in 2013.
Isostictidae is a small family of medium-sized to large damselflies restricted to Australia, New Caledonia, and New Guinea. It contains 12 genera and more than 40 species. Members of this family resemble species in the threadtail family (Protoneuridae).
Rambur's forktail is a member of the damselfly family Coenagrionidae. Males are green with blue on abdominal segments 8 and 9. Females are orange-red, olive green, or similar to males in coloration. This is the most widespread New World Ischnura, occurring throughout the Americas from the United States to Chile, as well as Hawaii and the Antilles.
Diphlebia euphoeoides, sometimes spelled Diphlebia euphaeoides, known as the tropical rockmaster, is an Australian species of broad winged damselfly. It is one of a group known as the azure damselflies. It is found in Queensland (Australia) and Papua New Guinea. It typically occurs near lakes, waterfalls or streams at relatively low altitudes, and is occasionally seen near dry pools.
Xanthocnemis zealandica, commonly known as common redcoat damselfly, red damselfly, or red coat damselfly, is one of the most common native New Zealand damselflies. Adult damselflies are often seen flying around vegetation close to streams.
Odonata are insects with an incomplete metamorphosis (hemimetabolous). The aquatic larva or nymph hatches from an egg, and develops through eight to seventeen instars before leaving the water and emerging as the winged adult or imago.
