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Anisoptera
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterized by a pair of large, multifaceted compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural colouration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related damselflies, which make up the other odonatan infraorder ( Zygoptera) and are similar in body plan though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold their wings folded at rest, along ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odonata
Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two common groups are distinguished with dragonflies, placed in the suborder Epiprocta, usually being larger, with eyes together and wings up or out at rest, while damselflies, suborder Zygoptera, are usually smaller with eyes placed apart and wings along body at rest. All Odonata have aquatic larvae called naiads (nymphs), and all of them, larvae and adults, are carnivorous. The adults can land, but rarely walk. Their legs are specialised for catching prey. They are almost entirely insectivorous. Etymology and terminology Fabricius coined the term ''Odonata'' in 1793 from the Ancient Greek ( Ionic form of ) 'tooth'. One hypothesis is that it was because their maxillae are notably toothed. Most insects also have toothed mandibles. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Wing
Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwings, respectively, though a few insects lack hindwings, even rudiments. The wings are strengthened by a number of longitudinal veins, which often have cross-connections that form closed "cells" in the membrane (extreme examples include the dragonflies and lacewings). The patterns resulting from the fusion and cross-connection of the wing veins are often diagnostic for different evolutionary lineages and can be used for identification to the family or even genus level in many orders of insects. Physically, some insects move their flight muscles directly, others indirectly. In insects with direct flight, the wing muscles directly attach to the wing base, so that a small downward movement of the wing base lifts the wing itself upward. Tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macromiidae
The insect family Macromiidae contains the dragonfly species known as cruisers or skimmers. They tend to fly over bodies of water (and roads) straight down the middle. They are similar to Aeshnidae in size, but the eyes are green and just barely meet at the top of the head. Macromiidae, or Macromiinae, has been traditionally considered as a subfamily of Corduliidae (). It contains four genera and 125 species worldwide. Females of this family lack an ovipositor at the end of the abdomen and lay their eggs by dipping the abdomen in the water as they fly over. Ovipositing is usually done without a male. Early Stages The Naiads hatch after two weeks and are born with three gills for respiration (Lung 2001). Naiads are found in rivers, streams, and lakes where there is water movement. They crawl in debris at the water's bottom and wait for prey. They mostly eat mosquito larvae, freshwater shrimp, fish and tadpoles (Young 1955). References 2. Young, Frank N.; Westfall, Minter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damselflies
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. An ancient group, damselflies have existed since at least the Lower Permian, and are found on every continent except Antarctica. All damselflies are predatory insects; both nymphs and adults actively hunt and eat other insects. The nymphs are aquatic, with different species living in a variety of freshwater habitats including acidic bogs, ponds, lakes and rivers. The nymphs moult repeatedly, at the last moult climbing out of the water to undergo metamorphosis. The skin splits down the back, they emerge and inflate their wings and abdomen to gain their adult form. Their presence on a body of water indicates that it is relatively unpolluted, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cordulegastridae
The Cordulegastridae are a family of Odonata (dragonflies) from the suborder Anisoptera. They are commonly known as spiketails. Some vernacular names for the species of this family are biddie and flying adder. They have large, brown or black bodies with yellow markings, and narrow unpatterned wings. Their bright eyes touch at a single point, and they can be found along small, clear, woodland streams, flying slowly 30 to 70 cm above the water. When disturbed, however, they can fly very rapidly. They usually hunt high in forest vegetation, and prefer to capture prey resting on leaves or branches (known as gleaning). The Cordulegastridae usually lay their eggs in the sand in shallow water, the female hovering just above the water with her body in a vertical position, and making repeated dips into the water with her abdomen. The family is distributed worldwide; all eight species in North America belong to the genus '' Cordulegaster''. The name Cordulegastridae comes from the G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeshnidae
The Aeshnidae, also called aeshnids, hawkers, or darners, is a family of dragonflies. The family includes the largest dragonflies found in North America and Europe and among the largest dragonflies on the planet. Description Common worldwide or nearly worldwide genera are '' Aeshna'' and '' Anax''. The African '' Anax tristis'' has a wingspan over 125 mm, making it one of the world's largest known dragonflies. There are 41 North American species in 11 genera in this family. Most European species belong to ''Aeshna''. Their American name "darner" stems from the female abdomens looking like a sewing needle, as they cut into plant stem when they lay their eggs through the ovipositor. The dragonflies mate in flight. The eggs are deposited in water or close by. The larvae (nymphs or naiads) are generally slender compared to those of other families, with a long and flat extensible lower lip (labium). The larvae are aquatic predators, feeding on other insects and even small fish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ommatidia
The compound eyes of arthropods like insects, crustaceans and millipedes are composed of units called ommatidia (singular: ommatidium). An ommatidium contains a cluster of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support cells and pigment cells. The outer part of the ommatidium is overlaid with a transparent cornea. Each ommatidium is innervated by one axon bundle (usually consisting of 6–9 axons, depending on the number of rhabdomeres) and provides the brain with one picture element. The brain forms an image from these independent picture elements. The number of ommatidia in the eye depends upon the type of arthropod and range from as low as 5 as in the Antarctic isopod '' Glyptonotus antarcticus'', or a handful in the primitive Zygentoma, to around 30,000 in larger Anisoptera dragonflies and some Sphingidae moths. Description Ommatidia are typically hexagonal in cross-section and approximately ten times longer than wide. The diameter is largest at the surface, tapering toward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gomphidae
The Gomphidae are a family of dragonflies commonly referred to as clubtails or club-tailed dragonflies. The family contains about 90 genera and 900 species found across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The name refers to the club-like widening of the end of the abdomen (abdominal segments 7 through 9). However, this club is usually less pronounced in females and is entirely absent in some species. Etymology The name may be derived from Latin ''gomphus'' or ''gond'' meaning "hinge". Characteristics Clubtails have small, widely separated compound eyes, a trait they share with the Petaluridae and with damselflies. The eyes are blue, turquoise, or green. The thorax in most species is pale with dark stripes, and the pattern of the stripes is often diagnostic. They lack the bright metallic colors of many dragonfly groups and are mostly cryptically colored to avoid detection and little difference between the sexes is seen. Adults are usually from in length; there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petaluridae
The petaltails of the family Petaluridae are apparently the most ancient of the extant true dragonflies (infraorder Anisoptera), having fossil members from as early as the Jurassic (over 150 million years ago). Modern petalurids include only 11 species, one of which, the Australian ''Petalura ingentissima'', is the largest of living dragonflies, having a wingspan of up to 160 mm and a body length of over 100 mm. Other Australian species include ''Petalura gigantea'' (commonly known as the giant dragonfly). In the United States, two species are found, one on either coast. The larvae live primarily in stream banks, mostly in burrows, but the larvae of the eastern US species, ''Tachopteryx thoreyi ''Tachopteryx thoreyi'', commonly known as the gray petaltail and Thorey's grayback, is a species of dragonfly. It is native to the East Coast of the United States as far north as New York, as far south as Florida, and as far west as Texas. This ...'', the gray petaltail, liv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthropod Eye
Apposition eyes are the most common form of eye, and are presumably the ancestral form of compound eye. They are found in all arthropod groups, although they may have evolved more than once within this phylum. Some annelids and bivalves also have apposition eyes. They are also possessed by ''Limulus'', the horseshoe crab, and there are suggestions that other chelicerates developed their simple eyes by reduction from a compound starting point. Some caterpillars appear to have evolved compound eyes from simple eyes in the opposite fashion. The arthropods ancestrally possessed compound eyes, but the type and origin of this eye varies between groups, and some taxa have secondarily developed simple eyes. The organ's development through the lineage can be estimated by comparing groups that branched early, such as the velvet worm and horseshoe crab to the advanced eye condition found in insects and other derived arthropods. Eyes and functions Most arthropods have at least one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlorogomphidae
The Chlorogomphidae are a family of Odonata (dragonflies) from the suborder Anisoptera A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa .... References * Cordulegastroidea Odonata families Taxa named by James George Needham {{Cordulegastroidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libelluloidea
Libelluloidea is a superfamily of dragonflies. A 2007 phylogenetic analysis suggests that this superfamily contains four families:Ware, J., May, M., & Kjer, K. (2007)Phylogeny of the higher Libelluloidea (Anisoptera: Odonata): an exploration of the most speciose superfamily of dragonflies.''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 45(1), 289-310. *Corduliidae * Gomphomacromiidae * Libellulidae *Macromiidae The insect family Macromiidae contains the dragonfly species known as cruisers or skimmers. They tend to fly over bodies of water (and roads) straight down the middle. They are similar to Aeshnidae in size, but the eyes are green and just barely ... Some authors include other families here, including Synthemistidae and the monotypic Neopetaliidae.Carle, F. L., Kjer, K. M., & May, M. L. (2008)Evolution of Odonata, with special reference to Coenagrionoidea (Zygoptera).''Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny'', 66(1), 37-44. References * Dragonflies Insect superfa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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