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The Damselfly (Suborder Zygoptera) is an insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
 in the Order Odonata
Odonata

Odonata is an Order of insects, encompassing Dragonfly and Damselfly . The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata. The term odonate has been coined to provide an English language name for the group as a whole, but is not in common usage; most Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term true dragon...
. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies
Dragonfly

A dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera....
, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest. Furthermore, the hindwing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the forewing, while the hindwing of the dragonfly broadens near the base, caudal to the connecting point at the body.






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Encyclopedia


The Damselfly (Suborder Zygoptera) is an insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
 in the Order Odonata
Odonata

Odonata is an Order of insects, encompassing Dragonfly and Damselfly . The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata. The term odonate has been coined to provide an English language name for the group as a whole, but is not in common usage; most Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term true dragon...
. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies
Dragonfly

A dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera....
, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest. Furthermore, the hindwing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the forewing, while the hindwing of the dragonfly broadens near the base, caudal to the connecting point at the body. Damselflies are also usually smaller, weaker fliers than dragonflies, and their eyes are separated.

Biology

Damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis
Hemimetabolism

File:Milkweedbugs.nymphadult9.0.jpgHemimetabolism or hemimetaboly, also called incomplete Metamorphosis , is a term used to describe the mode of development of certain insects that includes three distinct stages: the egg , Nymph , and the adult stage, or imago....
, with an aquatic nymphal stage. The female lays eggs in water, sometimes in underwater vegetation, or high in trees in bromeliads and other water-filled cavities. Nymphs are carnivorous, feeding on daphnia
Daphnia

Daphnia are small, planktonic crustaceans, between 0.2 and 5 mm in length. Daphnia are members of the Order Cladocera, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because of their saltation swimming style ....
, mosquito larvae, and various other small aquatic organisms. The gills of damselfly nymphs are large and external, resembling three fins at the end of the abdomen
Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity....
. After moulting several times, the winged adult emerges and eats flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects. Some of the larger tropical species are known to feed on spider
Spider

Spiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. In their bodies the usual arthropod segments are fused into two Tagma , the cephalothorax and abdomen, joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel....
s, hovering near the web and plucking the spider from its nest.

Gallery


See also

  • Pelecinus
    Pelecinus

    The genus Pelecinus is the only living member of the family Pelecinidae , and contains only three species restricted to the New World....
     a genus of wasp with a similar build to a damselfly.


External links

  • on the UF
    University of Florida

    The University of Florida is a Public university land-grant university, sea grant colleges, Space grant colleges major research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States....
     / IFAS
    Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

    The University of Florida?s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible....
     Featured Creatures Web site