Dragonflies and Damselflies

 

Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina), a large, brightly 
colored dragonfly resting on a plant stem.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

There are many kinds of flies in the insect world; house, horse, deer, fruit, May, black and others.  But none fire the imagination like dragonflies.  Their very name invokes fairy tales and fantasy.  The dragonfly’s close relatives, the damselflies, feed into these same tales with images of ladies in distress.  But these insects are interesting in their own right.  They are highly diverse, they are fierce predators and they have a fascinating life history.   

True flies, in the Order Diptera, have two wings but dragonflies and damselflies are not really flies.  They are classified in the Order Odonata and have four wings.  Giant ancestors of these insects from the age of dinosaurs had a wingspan of over two feet. Both dragonflies and damselflies have large compound eyes, a long abdomen and of course, six legs.   A key difference between damselflies and dragonflies is how they position their wings.  Dragonflies usually hold their wings straight out when perched while damselflies fold their wings over their back. Dragonflies and damselflies lay their eggs in fresh water and the larval state, called a nymph, develops in ponds and slow-moving streams.  Both dragonflies and damselflies are carnivores, eating invertebrate animals at each stage of their life cycle.    

Dragonfly nymph in the Family Libelluidae.  This family
includes several of the dragonflies in this blog.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

North America hosts more than three hundred species of dragonflies.  Dragonflies are strong flyers, with some species reaching 30 miles per hour.  In North America, several species of dragonflies undertake long, multigenerational migrations from Canada to the Neotropics and back. The adults are aerial predators that catch other insects like flies and mosquitos on the wing.  Dragonflies have giant eyes that take up most of their heads and give them 360-degree vision.  They are highly efficient hunters an( capture 95% of the prey they chase.  Dragonfly legs have long bristles that act as a cage to capture insects in flight.  

A male Eastern Pondhawk.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

The Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicollis) is common dragonfly in Eastern North America, the West Indies and Central America. Eastern Pondhawks are aggressive predators. They fly from a perch, catch their insect victims on the wing then return to the perch to eat. Female Eastern Pondhawks are bright green and males change from green to blue as they mature.

A bright green female Eastern Pondhawk. 
Clay County Florida. 

The Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is a large, active dragonfly that also hunts from a perch.  When a Blue Dasher sees a prey insect, it dashes from its perch to catch its meal.  Blue Dashers have large green eyes, a yellow striped thorax and in the males, a bright blue abdomen.  Climate change has allowed this species to extend their range into Canada.  

A Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) on a hunting perch.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

Halloween Pennants (Celithemis eponina) have a striking orange and black Halloween pattern on their wings.  When perched, Halloween Pennants often hold their wings up rather than out to the side so they look like they are flying pennants.  In most of their range, Halloween Pennants are not flying on Halloween, but in Florida they can be seen on their eponymous holiday. 

 

Halloween Pennant with its wings raised.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

Halloween Pennant with its wings in the normal position. 
Palm Beach County, Florida.

The Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) is another abundant dragonfly throughout North America.  Male Common Whitetails have a wide, white abdomen and clear wings with a wide dark band at mid-wing and a small dark mark near the body.  Females of the species have a brown abdomen with transparent wings decorated with three dark bands.   

Male Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia).
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Female Common Whitetail.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

A striking dragonfly found in Florida is the Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia).  This native of Asia has been introduced to Florida, Hawaii and Jamaica where it lives in swamps, marshes and near canals.  

Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia).
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Damselflies are smaller and more lightly built than dragonflies.  Damselfly flight is slow and fluttery compared to the fast and direct movement of dragonflies. The eyes of damselflies are smaller than those of dragonflies but bulge out from the head.  In other words, they are bug-eyed.     

Blue-tipped Dancer (Agria tibialis).  Like all damselflies
Blue-tipped Dancers fold their wings over their backs.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Blue-tipped Dancer (Agria tibialis) is a delicate little damselfly with clear wings, dark body and in the male, a bright blue tip to the abdomen.  Blue-tipped Dancers are found near streams and ponds throughout Eastern North America.

Male Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) with all black wings.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

 

Female Ebony Jewelwing with white spots at the ends of her forewings.  
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, North Carolina. 

Ebony Jewelwings (Calopteryx maculata) are the most dramatic damselflies in our area.  With black wings and iridescent blue-black bodies, these large damselflies are often seen flying in the forest understory.  Male Ebony Jewelwings have all black wings while females have white spots near the tip of their forewings.  

Dragonflies and damselflies play important roles in the environment.  They consume vast numbers of insects including mosquitos that may carry disease causing microbes.  Dragonflies and damselflies are predators, but are also prey to many species.  The nymph stage is eaten by other insects, frogs and fish.  Adults are caught on the wing by bats and acrobatic birds including swallows and kites.  We have watched dozens of Mississippi Kites (Ictinia mississippiensis) flying over farm fields catching dragonflies and eating them on the wing.  Their association with water at all stages of the lifecycle makes them sensitive to pollution so they are indicators of environmental quality.  Large numbers of dragonflies or damselflies is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. 

Halloween Pennant.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

As we walk the fields and stream-sides this summer we will be watching these fast flying, keen eyed predators whose very names come to us from fantasy.