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Narrative
Dragonflies and Damselflies (Order Odonata) are a very ancient group of insects with over five thousand species known. The North American area contains about 450 of these insects. These insects are capable flyers and catch their prey (usually smaller insects) while in flight. The larvae live in water and are also predators.
Since dragonflies (both adults and larvae) eat many mosquitoes, they are among the most beneficial of all insects. Spraying swamps several times a year with a broad pesticide to kill all insects often destroys the dragonfly species. Their life cycles are typically many months or a year. On the other hand, many mosquitoes have short life cycles. With a natural predator eliminated, the mosquitoes can become even more abundant.
Many species in this family are brilliantly colored when alive, but these colors fade when specimens are placed in mounted collections.
Taxonomy
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Latin
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English
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Kingdom
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Animalia
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Animal
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Phylum
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Arthropoda
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Jointed Legged Animals
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Class
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Insecta
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Insects
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Order
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Odonata
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Dragon And Damselfly
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Family
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SubFamily
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References
| Title | Author | Comments |
| Dragonflies of North America | Needham, James G. | This is a scientific treatise of all the dragonflies of North America. This revised edition of the 1955 publication contains 939 pages and is a highly detailed scholarly discussion of 350 species of dragonflies. It contains many detailed illustrations, both line drawings and photographs, and 36 pages of multiple-image colored plates. |
| Color Guide to Common Dragonflies of Wisconsin | Legler, Karl | First published in 1995, this easy to use book contains 167 color photographs and drawings of 76 species of dragonflies (plus 3 distinctive damselflies) supplemented by 64 line drawings illustrating details. Contains distribution maps of each species discussed. |
| A Field Guide to the Insects | Borror, Donald J. | This book provides an excellent overview of the insects of America north of Mexico. Butterflies, moths, beetles, and other orders of insects are covered. |
| The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Insects | Stanek, V.J. | This 543 page book covers the various orders and families of insects. Many interesting and exotic species are pictured, and many of the pictures are in color. This is a very fine book. |
| Insects of Hong Kong | Hill, D.S. | This 500 poage black and white book gives a good overview of the insects of Hong Kong, China. Wiht many line drawings and some photographs, one should be able to identify the common dragonflies, grasshopper, butterflies, and moths of the area. |
| Insects of the World | Linsenmaier, Walter | This large format 390 page book is an excellent overview of the beautiful and interesting insects of the world. With lots of color and text, this book can serve as an excellent introduction to the fascinating world of insects. |
| Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida - Volume IV Invertebrates | Deyrup, Mark | This detailed work covers the mollusks and arthropods of Florida that are rare or endangered. Each species is described along with its range and habitat. Detailed disribution maps are also included. Almost 800 pages of detailed information make this a truly excellent work. |
| Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Northeastern North America | Peckarsky, Barbara | This work serves as an excellent overview of the aquatic insects of north east North America. Also crustacea and Mollusks are included. They keys are useful for identification purposes. |
| Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders | Milne, Lorus and Margery | The 702 color illustrations of living specimens are excellent. Spiders, scorpions, and Insects are covered. With a good coverage of arthropods, this book should be in any library that is used for identification. The text also mentions related species. |
| Larousse Encyclopedia of the Animal World | Various | This 640 page book covers the phyla in the animal kingdom, including a good survey of sponges, coelenterates, worms, misc. phyla, arthropods and chordates. With numerous pictures and diagrams, this work gives a good understanding of the taxonomy of the animal kingdom. The first half of the book covers the lower phyla, and the last half concentrates on the chordates. Numerous important species are described and pictured. |
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