ENY 3005 Families of Odonata

Order Odonata Pronunciation: oh-doe-NAY-ta  Common names: dragonflies, damselflies

Classification of the Odonata

• Suborder Anisoptera = dragonflies
• Superfamily Aeshnoidea
• Family Petaluridae = graybacks
• Family Gomphidae = clubtails
• Family Aeshnidae = darners
• Family Cordulegastridae = biddies
• Superfamily Libelluloidea
• Family Macromiidae = belted and river skimmers
• Family Corduliidae = green-eyed skimmers
• Family Libellulidae = common skimmers
• Suborder Zygoptera = damselflies
• Family Calopterygidae = broad-winged damselflies
• Family Lestidae = spread-winged damselflies
• Family Protoneuridae [Two species in southern Texas]
• Family Coenagrionidae = narrow-winged damselflies

• U Delaware Insect Database. Provides a picture and brief information on the etymology, pronunciation, identification, and biology of the orders of insects.
• Dragonfly Museum - Texas A&M
• Damselfly Web Site - Texas A&M
• Odonata Dragonflies -- Gordon's Insect World
• Dragonflies and Damselflies
• Illinois State Museum -- Non-Illinois Odonata Holdings: by State
• Odonata -- Montana Aquatic Invertebrates

• J. J. Daigle. 1991. Florida damselflies (Zygoptera): a species key to the aquatic larval stages. (208 Kb pdf file available from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection).
• J. J. Daigle. 1992. Florida dragonflies (Anisoptera): a species key to the aquatic larval stages. (1596 Kb pdf file available from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection).
• S. W. Dunkle. 1989. Dragonflies of the Florida peninsula, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers. 154 p.
• S. W. Dunkle. 1990. Damselflies of the Florida peninsula, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Gainesville, FL: Scientific Publishers. 148 p.
• Pages 68-75 and plate 1 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 69-82 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Pages 187-202 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Pages 355-361 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.