Dragonflies & Damselflies
Order Odonata
185 speciesAncient predatory insects with large multifaceted eyes and two pairs of strong transparent wings. They are agile fliers and important predators of mosquitoes.
Species in this Order
Julia Skimmer
Orthetrum julia
A slender African dragonfly where mature males develop a striking black and white pattern. It is fou...
Keeled Skimmer
Orthetrum coerulescens
A slender dragonfly where mature males develop a powder-blue abdomen. Females and immature males are...
Kirby's Dropwing
Trithemis kirbyi
A bright orange-red dragonfly widespread across Africa and into southern Asia. Males have distinctiv...
Lance-tipped Darner
Aeshna constricta
A large brown darner with blue spots common in eastern North America. It is a late-season flier, act...
Lancet Clubtail
Phanogomphus exilis
A small, slender clubtail dragonfly of eastern North America with greenish-yellow markings. It frequ...
Large Red Damselfly
Pyrrhosoma nymphula
One of the first damselflies to emerge each spring in Europe, with a distinctive bright red body and...
Lesser Emperor
Anax parthenope
A large dragonfly with a brownish thorax and distinctive blue saddle at the base of its abdomen. It ...
Madagascar Giant Darter
Anax tumorifer
A large dragonfly endemic to Madagascar that frequents forest pools and marshes. It is one of the la...
Malagasy Flatwing
Platycnemis malgassica
A slender damselfly with expanded white tibiae on the middle and hind legs, used in courtship displa...
Malagasy Sprite
Pseudagrion malgassicum
A delicate damselfly with a slender blue and black body. It is one of the most widespread and adapta...
Mascarene Island Dragonfly
Thalassothemis marchali
A skimmer dragonfly endemic to Mauritius and Reunion in the Mascarene Islands. It patrols ponds and ...
Mascarene Spreadwing
Lestes auripennis
A rare damselfly endemic to Mauritius and Reunion in the Mascarene Islands. It breeds in slow-flowin...
Migrant Hawker
Aeshna mixta
A medium-sized hawker dragonfly that has significantly expanded its range northward in Europe. It fl...
Mountain Demoiselle
Calopteryx exul
A rare North African demoiselle restricted to mountain streams in Algeria and Tunisia. Males have da...
Neon Skimmer
Libellula croceipennis
A brilliantly red dragonfly of the American Southwest with amber-tinted wings. Males are an intense ...
New Zealand Blue Damselfly
Austrolestes colensonis
New Zealand's most common damselfly, with striking blue and black colouration in males. It is found ...
Norfolk Damselfly
Coenagrion armatum
A critically rare damselfly once found in the Norfolk Broads of England, now extinct in Britain. Sma...
Norfolk Hawker
Anaciaeschna isosceles
A large brown hawker dragonfly with distinctive green eyes and a yellow triangle on the second abdom...
Northern Damselfly
Coenagrion johanssoni
A delicate blue and black damselfly with narrow wings held together above the body at rest. Males ha...
Northern Emerald Dragonfly
Somatochlora arctica
A rare dragonfly of northern bogs and moorland pools. Has brilliant emerald-green eyes and a bronzy-...
Northern White-faced Darter
Leucorrhinia rubicunda
A small dragonfly with a dark body, white face, and reddish markings on the abdomen. Males are more ...
Ogasawara Damselfly
Rhinocypha ogasawarensis
A striking damselfly endemic to the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands of Japan. Males display iridescent blu...
Orange-bellied Skimmer
Libellula jesseana
A rare North American dragonfly found in acidic bog ponds and fens. It is extremely localized across...
Orange-spotted Emerald
Oxygastra curtisii
A rare metallic green dragonfly with golden spots along its abdomen....
Oriental Demoiselle
Calopteryx cornelia
A Japanese demoiselle with shimmering blue-black wings and a metallic green body. It is endemic to J...
Pacific Spiketail
Cordulegaster dorsalis
The only spiketail dragonfly on the Pacific coast of North America. It has a dark brown body with ye...
Paddle-tailed Darner
Aeshna palmata
A large, boldly marked darner of western North America with distinctive paddle-shaped cerci. Males h...
Painted Skimmer
Libellula semifasciata
An attractive dragonfly with amber-tinted wings marked by brown bands and spots. It is an early-seas...
Petaltail Dragonfly
Tachopteryx thoreyi
A primitive dragonfly that perches on tree trunks and has bog-dwelling larvae....
Rambur's Forktail
Ischnura ramburii
A widespread New World damselfly where males are green and black with a blue tail tip. Females come ...
Red and Blue Damselfly
Xanthagrion erythroneurum
A small damselfly where males display striking red and blue coloring. It is one of the most colorful...
Red-eyed Damselfly
Erythromma najas
A stocky blue damselfly with distinctive dark red eyes. It spends most of its time perched on floati...
Red-faced Skimmer
Orthetrum testaceum
A robust Asian dragonfly where mature males develop a vivid red face and body. Females are brownish-...
Red-veined Darter
Sympetrum fonscolombii
A striking darter dragonfly with red veins on the leading edge of the wings and a vivid blue undersi...
Redcoat Damselfly
Xanthocnemis zealandica
A small endemic damselfly found throughout New Zealand, named for the bright red body of the male. I...
Relict Himalayan Dragonfly
Epiophlebia laidlawi
A living fossil dragonfly from the Himalayas that retains features of both dragonflies and damselfli...
Reunion Riverjack
Zygonyx elisabethae
A large dragonfly endemic to the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. It patrols waterfalls and fa...
Ringed Cascader
Zygonyx torridus
A dragonfly that hunts exclusively over rapids and waterfalls in warm climates....
River Clubtail
Stylurus flavipes
A large clubtail dragonfly with yellow and black markings and a distinctly expanded abdomen tip. It ...
River Jewelwing
Calopteryx aequabilis
A North American damselfly with narrow dark wing tips in males and a metallic green body. It prefers...
Roseate Skimmer
Orthemis ferruginea
A dragonfly where mature males develop a beautiful rosy-pink to violet abdomen. Females are brown wi...
Ruddy Darter
Sympetrum sanguineum
A small dragonfly where mature males turn deep blood-red with a distinctly club-shaped abdomen. Fema...
Russet-tipped Clubtail
Stylurus plagiatus
A handsome clubtail with orange-brown wingtips and a distinctly widened club-shaped abdomen. It flie...
San Francisco Forktail Damselfly
Ischnura gemina
A tiny damselfly restricted to a few freshwater ponds near the San Francisco Bay coast. It is threat...
Sapphire Flutterer
Rhyothemis triangularis
A small dragonfly with sapphire-blue metallic patches on its hindwings. It has a fluttering, butterf...
Sapphire Jewelwing
Vestalis luctuosa
A large Southeast Asian damselfly with a dark metallic blue body and dark-tipped wings. Males shimme...
Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly
Ischnura pumilio
One of Europe's smallest damselflies, with a black body and a single blue segment near the tail tip....
Scarce Chaser
Libellula fulva
A medium-sized dragonfly where mature males develop a powdery blue abdomen. It is associated with cl...
Scarlet Percher
Diplacodes haematodes
A brilliant scarlet-red dragonfly found across northern and inland Australia. Males are among the mo...
Scarlet Skimmer
Crocothemis erythraea
A medium-sized dragonfly where males are entirely vivid scarlet red, including the veins of the wing...
Selika Dropwing
Trithemis selika
A robust dragonfly with crimson to dark red coloration in mature males and brown in females. It perc...
Seychelles Cascader
Zygonyx hookeri
A large dragonfly endemic to the Seychelles that breeds in fast-flowing streams and waterfalls. Adul...
Shadow Darner
Aeshna umbrosa
A large, dark darner that hunts in shaded forest edges during evening hours. It is widespread across...
Shadowdamsel
Palaemnema paulicoba
A delicate damselfly that lives in deep shade along tropical forest streams....
Sinuate-winged Damselfly
Tatocnemis sinuatipennis
An endemic damselfly with distinctively sinuate or wavy-edged wings, a feature unique among Malagasy...
Slaty Skimmer
Libellula incesta
A dark, slate-blue dragonfly of eastern North America. Mature males are uniformly dark blue-black, m...
Small Goldenring
Cordulegaster trinacriae
A Mediterranean goldenring dragonfly found in Italy and nearby regions. It is smaller than most gold...
Small Red Damselfly
Ceriagrion tenellum
A delicate damselfly where males are almost entirely red, a rare color for damselflies. Females come...
Smoky Rubyspot
Hetaerina titia
A damselfly with dark smoky wings and amber-red basal patches in males. It is found along forested s...
Southern Damselfly
Coenagrion mercuriale
A rare and declining European damselfly with a mercury-symbol-shaped mark on segment two. It is rest...
Southern Hawker
Aeshna cyanea
A large, inquisitive dragonfly with apple-green and blue markings on a dark body. It is known for it...
Southern Skimmer
Orthetrum brunneum
A robust skimmer dragonfly where males develop a pale powder-blue pruinescence. Females are brown wi...
Sparkling Jewelwing
Calopteryx xanthostoma
A southwestern European demoiselle closely related to the Banded Demoiselle. Males have broad dark w...
Splendid Clubtail
Gomphidia abbotti
A large, impressive Asian clubtail with bold yellow and black markings. It inhabits forested rivers ...
Sri Lankan Relict Dragonfly
Lankanectes corrugatus
A rare clubtail dragonfly endemic to Sri Lanka's wet zone streams. It has declined sharply due to wa...
Stream Jewelwing
Neurobasis chinensis
A spectacular tropical damselfly where males have iridescent metallic green hindwings that flash in ...
Superb Jewelwing
Calopteryx amata
An East Asian damselfly with iridescent metallic green body and dark wings with blue-purple reflecti...
Swamp Darner
Austroaeschna parvistigma
A medium-sized brown and blue darner dragonfly found along shaded creeks in southeastern Australia. ...
Tau Emerald
Hemicordulia tau
A metallic emerald-green dragonfly with bright green eyes and a distinctive T-shaped yellow marking ...
Three-veined Dragonfly
Neodythemis trinervulata
A small forest dragonfly with a characteristic three-veined wing pattern that distinguishes it from ...
Twelve-Spotted Skimmer
Libellula pulchella
A showy dragonfly with three dark spots on each wing, totaling twelve. Mature males develop addition...
Twin-spotted Spiketail
Cordulegaster maculata
A large, dark brown spiketail with paired yellow spots on each abdominal segment. It is the most com...
Two-toothed Goldenring
Cordulegaster bidentata
A large, dark goldenring dragonfly of central European mountain streams. It is distinguished from ot...
Vagrant Emperor
Anax ephippiger
A nomadic dragonfly that wanders vast distances across Africa, Europe, and Asia. It has a sandy-brow...
Variable Damselfly
Coenagrion pulchellum
A blue damselfly with highly variable black markings, making identification challenging. Males have ...
Violet Dropwing
Trithemis annulata
A stunning dragonfly where mature males turn deep violet-purple with red wing veins. It is expanding...
Vivid Dancer
Argia vivida
A brightly colored dancer damselfly of western North America with intense blue-violet markings. It t...
Wandering Glider
Pantala hymenaea
A medium-sized dragonfly with broad hindwings and a yellowish body. It spends almost its entire life...
Wandering Percher
Diplacodes bipunctata
A small dragonfly where males turn deep red with maturity while females remain yellow and brown. It ...
White-faced Darter
Leucorrhinia dubia
A small dragonfly with a distinctive white face and red markings on a dark body. It is a specialist ...
White-legged Damselfly
Platycnemis pennipes
A pale, delicate damselfly with distinctively flattened white legs that the male waves during courts...
Widow Skimmer
Libellula luctuosa
A distinctive dragonfly with broad dark wing patches at the base and white bands beyond them in matu...
Yellow-spotted Tree Damselfly
Platycypha caligata
A colorful damselfly from African forest streams with males showing bright red and white leg flags. ...
Yellow-striped Flutterer
Rhyothemis phyllis
A small dragonfly with bold yellow and black stripes on its wings. It flies in a distinctive flutter...
Yellow-winged Darter
Sympetrum flaveolum
A medium-sized darter with extensive saffron-yellow patches at the base of all four wings. Males are...