Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) » Dragonflies (Anisoptera) » Skimmers (Libellulidae) » Pondhawks (Erythemis)

Genus Erythemis - Pondhawks

Eastern Pondhawk - Erythemis simplicicollis - female

Eastern Pondhawk? - Erythemis simplicicollis - male

Great Pondhawk - Erythemis vesiculosa - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Suborder Anisoptera (Dragonflies)

Family Libellulidae (Skimmers)

Genus Erythemis (Pondhawks)

Explanation of Names

Author of genus is Hagen, 1861. From eryth- (?), Greek, meaning red, plus the ubiquitous suffix -themis. This is from Greek, first used by Hagen in 1861, and it means "what has been established", i.e., rule, or law. Themis was also a goddess of order and justice. However, it is possible the suffix was also simply based on the Greek suffixes -hemis (half), or -emis. See this Odonata list post by KD Dijkstra.

Numbers

Odonata of North America lists 7 species.

Dunkle, p. 211, lists 5 species. (1)

Works Cited

1.	Dragonflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America Sidney W. Dunkle. 2000. Oxford Press.

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis
Last updated 5 July, 2007 - 5:34am

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