Order Odonata - Dragonflies and Damselflies

Classification · Other Common Names · Numbers · Identification · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Eastern Amberwing - Perithemis tenera - male

Eastern Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis - male

Black-shouldered Spinyleg - Dromogomphus spinosus - male

Horned Clubtail (Arigomphus cornutus) - Arigomphus cornutus - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Other Common Names

USE: The Odonata of North America for Common Names

USE: The Odonata of North America for Scientific Names

Numbers

400 North American species (1)

3 suborders: Anisoptera (Dragonflies), Zygoptera (Damselflies), Anisozygoptera (only in Asia) (2)

Identification

For some of the very best images, photographs in the field and annotated scans that are an incredible resource for identification, go to the Strickland's site here

Print References

Borror & White, pp. 68-75 (1)

Lam, p. 4 (2)

Internet References

Tree of Life

Dragonflies and Damselflies of West Virginia

Insects of Cedar Creek

Odonata of North America--checklist, University of Puget Sound. See discussion on use of this as an authority for taxonomy, common names

A list of the species in the extreme NE can be found here. Go to the home page. URL below, click onMDDS 2005 Final Report and scroll to Table 2. Lists 142 spp. in NH, 158 spp, in ME, 131 spp. in NB. Lots of other info.

http://mdds.umf.maine.edu/

Strickland's Site, fantastic annotated scans for identification: here

Works Cited

1.	A Field Guide to Insects By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson

2.	Damselflies of the Northeast By Ed Lam

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Mike Boone, cotinis, Stephen Cresswell, Tony-2
Last updated 25 January, 2009 - 11:29am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version