Insects

Dragonflies

The order Odonata is divided into two suborders; the Anisoptera (Dragonflies) and Zygoptera (Damselflies). Nomina Insecta Nearctica lists 435 species as occurring in North America. The nymphs of dragonflies are aquatic and predaceous.

Items of Interest to Odonata Enthusiasts. Ron Lyons. This site has extensive information on the Odonata with many photographs. It also includes a checklist of the odonates of California and a bibliography.

Dragonfly Biodiversity. Slater Museum of Natural History. A great site with diverse information and photographs of the Odonata of North America and elsewhere. This site also contains range maps for the odonates of the Northwest and field keys for the species occurring in Washington and Alaska.

A Checklist of the Odonata of North America. A list of the species of dragonflies and damselflies occurring in North America with both scientific and common names. Compiled by the Dragonfly Society of the Americas.

Digital Dragonfly Museum. Forest Mitchell. A marvelous collection of images of the species of dragonflies of Central Texas.

Damselflies of Texas. Forest Mitchell. A list of the damselflies of Texas with Texas distribution maps for most of them.

Catching and Preserving Dragonflies. A compilation of tips for collecting Odonata.

ODE News. Although ostensibly a newsletter about Odonata, this site contains checklists of the Massachusetts' odonates with a marvelous collection of photographs of the species. This is also the best site for finding links to other odonate sites.

Michigan Odonata Survey. This site contains photographs and black and white engravings of odonates. An experimental key to odonates nymphs is included as well as instructions on collecting and preparing Odonata.

Oregon Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey. Steve Valley and Robin Valley. This site has distribution maps by county for the odonates of Oregon as well as many photographs. Links to other odonate sites on the web may also be found here.

Dmslfly.pdf - Daigle, J. J. Florida damselfies (Zygoptera): a species key to the aquatic larval stages. This file is in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format.

Drgnfly.pdf - Daigle, J. J. Florida dragonfies (Anisoptera): a species key to the aquatic larval stages. This is an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file.

California Dragonflies and Damselflies. Kathy Biggs. A checklist of the Odonata of California with links to photographs of many of the species.

Odonatology Home Page. This site includes a list of the Odonata of New Jersey and an identification guide to the dragonfly family Gomphidae.

Dragonflies and Damselflies of New Brunswick. A list of the Odonata of New Brunswick with photographs of many of the species.

Ohio Odonata Survey. A list of the Odonata of Ohio with distribution maps by county as well as a graph of the seasonal occurrence of each species.

Arizona ODE Photos. Stuart Tingley. Photographs of Odonata from Arizona.

Nature Photography by Andy Harmer. Nature photographs including three great photographs of odonates in flight.