Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Dragons & Damsels

Dragons and damsels are members of the order Odonata, an ancient group of insects commonly known as dragonflies and damselflies. The two groups are often lumped together as dragonflies (or darning needles), but they are different and quite easy to tell apart.

The easiest way to distinguish between them is by how they hold their wings when at rest. Dragonflies hold their wings spread horizontally while most damselflies hold their wings together over their backs and appear more delicate; there’s a small group of damselflies called spreadwings whose wings are held in an intermediate position.

These dragons and damsels frequent wetlands of all kinds, from arctic bogs to sluggish tropical rivers. Here in northcentral Pennsylvania they’re most often found along the edges of lakes and ponds, but some species inhabit swift mountain streams, others the largest rivers. Nymphs of all dragonflies and damselflies are aquatic until they climb from the water and emerge as adults. While most of the adults frequent water bodies, some spend a lot of time hunting smaller insects far from any water.

Here are some of the northeast's most beautiful dragons and damsels –


















These insects have been on earth for hundreds of millions of years (the species were different then, some were much, much larger than any living species) and they’re still here.

6 comments:

  1. What a lovely array! I love our dragons. We have to many bugs...
    I like your bear, on your profile.

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  2. Great series of photos! And I now understand the difference. Used to see lots of Ebony Jewellwings while canoeing.

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  3. I find dragonflies and damselflies interesting also. Enjoyed your video in the previous post.

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  4. I learned something today, about how to tell the difference. We have hundreds of dragonflies over the golf course and the preserve where we hike too. The saddlebags is a good name for that one. I've wondered what it was. Happy weekend!

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  5. Hello,

    They are all beautiful insects. Great series of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a great day and a happy weekend!

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  6. great shots with details....wonderful

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Woody