EUPHAEA LARA

CLEAR RESIN ENCAPSULATION

Odonata is an order of carnivorous insects, encompassing the dragonflies (Anisoptera) and the damselflies (Zygoptera). The Odonata form a clade, which has existed since the Permian.

Dragonflies are generally larger, and perch with their wings held out to the sides; damselflies have slender bodies, and hold their wings over the body at rest.

Fabricius coined the term Odonata from the Greek, odontos (tooth) apparently because they have teeth on their mandibles, even though most insects also have toothed mandibles.

The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but odonate is a more correct English name for the group as a whole. Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term true dragonfly, or simply Anisopteran, when referring to just the Anisoptera. The term Warriorfly has also been proposed. Some 5,900 species have been described in this order.

The largest living odonate is the giant Central American helicopter damselfly Megaloprepus coerulatus with a wing span of 191 mm. The heaviest living odonates are Tetracanthagyna plagiata with a wing span of 165 mm, and Petalura ingentissima with a body length of 117 mm and wing span of 160 mm. The longest extant odonate is the Neotropical helicopter damselfly Mecistogaster linearis with a body length of 135 mm. Sometimes the giant Hawaiian darner Anax strenuus is claimed to be the largest living odonate with an alleged wing span of 190 mm, but this seems to be rather a myth as only 152 mm are scientifically documented.

These insects characteristically have large rounded heads covered mostly by well-developed, compound eyes, legs that facilitate catching prey in flight, two pairs of long, transparent wings that move independently, and elongated abdomens. They have three ocelli and short antennae. The mouthparts are on the underside of the head and include simple chewing mandibles in the adult.

Flight in the Odonata is direct, with flight muscles attaching directly to the wings; rather than indirect, with flight muscles attaching to the thorax, as is found in the Neoptera. This allows active control of the amplitude, frequency, angle of attack, camber and twist of each of the four wings entirely independently.

GREAT DAMSELFLIES IDENTIFICATION GUIDE ( PDF )

The Zygoptera are an ancient group, with fossils known from the lower Permian, at least 250 million years ago. All the fossils of that age are of adults, similar in structure to modern damselflies, so it is not known whether their larvae were aquatic at that time. The earliest larval odonate fossils are from the Mesozoic. Fossils of damselfly-like Protozygoptera date back further to 311-30 Mya. Well-preserved Eocene damselfly larvae and exuviae are known from fossils preserved in amber in the Baltic region.

In general, damselflies are smaller than dragonflies, the smallest being members of the genus Agriocnemis (wisps). However, members of the Pseudostigmatidae (helicopter damselflies or forest giants) are exceptionally large for the group, with wingspans as much as 19 cm (7.5 in) in Megaloprepus and body length up to 13 cm (5.1 in) in Pseudostigma aberrans.

Odonates are found on all the continents except Antarctica. Although some species of dragonfly have wide distributions, damselflies tend to have smaller ranges. Most odonates breed in fresh-water; a few damselflies in the family Caenagrionidae breed in brackish water (and a single dragonfly species breeds in seawater). Dragonflies are more affected by pollution than are damselflies. The presence of odonates indicates that an ecosystem is of good quality. The most species-rich environments have a range of suitable microhabitats, providing suitable water bodies for breeding.