Odonata Order: Dragonflies and Damselflies

Both the nymphs and the adults of dragonflies and damselflies are excellent predators. Place nymphs, especially the larger ones, alone in their own container or they will eat your other samples. Their gills are located at the tip of the abdomen. Dragonfly nymphs pump water out of a valve between the stiff epiprocts, and cerci. They can control this flow to shoot forward like a jet. Damselfy nymphs use their feather-like caudal gils as paddles, wiggling their body horizontally to swim. Both the dragonflies and damselflies found in this pond are climbers, and live generally amongst the submergent vegetation. They both hunt by ambushing their prey. They can extend their labium (Figure a. and b.) very quickly to capture their prey. The shape of the labium is the primary way to identify the nymphs at the family level. The adults are usually seen flying over and around the pond later itn the summer and are most common on warm, sunny, windless days.


Insect Home Insect Orders Ephemeroptera: Mayflies Odonata: Dragonflies Hemiptera: True Bugs Trichoptera: Caddisflies Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies Coleoptera: Beetles Diptera: Flies Index Glossary Links Environmental Interpretive Center	The Odonata Order: Dragonflies and Damselflies

	Go to Key Both the nymphs and the adults of dragonflies and damselflies are excellent predators. Place nymphs, especially the larger ones, alone in their own container or they will eat your other samples. Their gills are located at the tip of the abdomen. Dragonfly nymphs pump water out of a valve between the stiff epiprocts, and cerci. They can control this flow to shoot forward like a jet. Damselfy nymphs use their feather-like caudal gils as paddles, wiggling their body horizontally to swim. Both the dragonflies and damselflies found in this pond are climbers, and live generally amongst the submergent vegetation. They both hunt by ambushing their prey. They can extend their labium (Figure a. and b.) very quickly to capture their prey. The shape of the labium is the primary way to identify the nymphs at the family level. The adults are usually seen flying over and around the pond later itn the summer and are most common on warm, sunny, windless days. a. b.