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*** Note: KnowYourInsects.org does its best to include correct identifications of insect photos. It’s always possible that we made a mistake, however, so if you see a misidentification, please contact us and we will correct it. Thanks!
Order Odonata: the dragonflies and damselflies — Examples
| Aeshnidae (darners) |
Cordulegastridae (spiketails) |
Corduliidae (emeralds) |
Gomphidae (clubtails) |
Libellulidae (skimmers) |
Macromiidae (cruisers) |
Page 2 — the damselflies:
| Calopterygidae (broad-winged) |
Chlorocyphidae (jewels) |
Coenagrionidae (narrow-winged) |
Euphaeidae (gossamerwings) |
Lestidae (spreadwings) |
Unidentified damselflies |
Aeshnidae, the darner dragonflies
Blue-eyed darner, mating pair, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ Blue-eyed darners can grow to more than 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) long. Both the male and the female have brilliant blue eyes, but only the male is easily seen in this mating pair. The two sexes have similar body markings, too, but the male’s are blue, and the female’s are green. Photographed and identified by: Tisha. Location: Juanita Beach Park, Kirkland, Washington, USA. Date: 17 July, 2021. |
Blue-eyed darner, male, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ One of the features of the blue-eyed darner is the pair of color slashes on each side of the thorax. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size image here. Location: city of San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 12 June, 2017. Thomas says this one “shows the underside which also has lots of patterns, shows the slashes, and it looks like the front leg goes under the eye.” |
Blue-eyed darner, female, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ The female blue-eyed darner has the same graphic pattern on the abdomen as the male does, but her coloration is much more muted. Photographed and identified to order by: Robert E. Carpenter. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Harris Beach State Park, Oregon, USA. Date: 21 May, 2016. |
 Blue-eyed darner, female, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ These close-ups give spectacular look at this female blue-eyed darner. Notice the tiny antennae — typical of dragonflies. Click on the photo at right to see the amazing detail of this dragonfly, or go directly to the photographer’s full-size image by clicking here (his Flickr site). □ See the photographer’s comments below to hear about the photo session. Photographed by: Thomas Langhans. See Thomas’s full-size images here, and here and here. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 26 August, 2022. Thomas says, “This one stayed on this branch for about an hour.... I practically had the lens hood of my 105 mm micro lens in its ear, if it has an ear, and it never moved.“ |
Blue-eyed darner, mating pair, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ This mating pair of blue-eyed darners shows the color difference between the male and female. Photographed and identified as a dragonfly by: Jeremy Petru. Identified to species by KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Sebastopol, California, USA. Date: 16 August, 2020. |
Blue-eyed darner, male, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ The blue-eyed darner looks almost identical to the spatterdock darner (Rhionaeschna mutata). The blue-eyed darner occurs in the western and central United States and western Canada, while the spatterdock darner is found mostly in the northeastern United States and parts of eastern Canada. Photographed by: Thomas Langhans. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 20 July, 2016. |
 Blue-eyed darner, female, Rhionaeschna multicolor, family Aeshnidae. □ This side view of a female blue-eyed darner shows the watercolor-like mixing of soft brown and light blue on her abdomen. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See Thomas’s full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 21 June, 2024. |
Shadow darner, Aeshna umbrosa, family Aeshnidae. □ True to its name, the shadow darner prefers shady, shadowy spots along rivers and ponds. Photographed and identified to order by: Sarah McKay-Mertz. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA. Date: 25 April, 2017. Sarah says, “City bugs get a bad rap, so I thought you might like seeing this beauty I saw laying stunned in the grass about 1/2 block from the Willis Tower. He must have been at least 6 inches long — and thick for a dragonfly. Hopefully he will make it!” |
Southern hawker, also called a blue hawker, female, Aeshna cyanea, family Aeshnidae. □ This female southern hawker has bright green markings all the way to the end of its abdomen. Males develop blue markings on the final three abdominal segments. Note also the pterostigma (the colored cells near the tip of each wing), which are yellowish-orange in this individual. The pterostigma in different individuals of this species may appear to be either orange, yellowish-orange or white. Photographed and identified by: Bryan Wenham-Baker. Location: South Devon, England, UK. Date: 6 August, 2017. |
The southern hawker is a speedy dragonfly, that casually flies at about 16 kph (10 mph). When the mood strikes them, however, they can speed up to 48 kph (30 mph)! |
Common green darner, male, Anax junius, family Aeshnidae. □ This male common green darner shows off the intricate black pattern on his blue abdomen. In some males of this species, the first abdominal segment (behind the thorax) has a definite purple tint, but this one is bright blue. Photographed by: Marv Goldberg. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Tamarac, Florida, USA. Date: 7 September, 2013. |
Common green darner, male and female, Anax junius, family Aeshnidae. □ The male common green darner has a blue abdomen, while the female has a green abdomen. During mating, the male will grasp the female behind her head as shown. Here, the female appears to be dipping the tip of her abdomen in the water to lay eggs. In many cases, however, the female will be separated from the male during egg-laying. See the photographer’s note below. Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Harlingen, Texas, USA. Date: 18 October, 2019. Robert welcomes everyone to view his online video of a bird (a pied-billed grebe) eating a green darner here. |
Common green darners, mating pair, Anax junius, family Aeshnidae. □ This pair of common green darners are in the standard cartwheel or mating wheel formation. The male grasps the female behind her head, and she then bends her body forward to connect with a sperm-containing organ at the front of his abdomen. Photographed by: Michelle Von Sutphen. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Outer Banks of North Carolina, USA. Date: 2 August, 2013. |
Common green darner, female, Anax junius, family Aeshnidae. □ The common green darner is a large dragonfly with a wingspan that can top 3 inches (7.5 cm) in the male. The female (shown here) is slightly smaller. Both male and female have a white-outlined black spot just in front of the eyes, a feature that helps to separate them from similar-looking species. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size image here. Location: city of San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 24 August, 2020. Thomas says this darner was 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. He adds, “At first I just wanted to know what these insects were; now I want to know which sex they are. Where will this end?” |
Common green darner, Anax junius, family Aeshnidae. □ These photos of a common green darner show both an adult and an exuviae (molt) of a green darner. Photographed and identified to family by: Victoria Lang. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Dixie National Forest outside Central, Utah, USA. Date: 13 September, 2021. |
Common green darner, female, Anax junius, family Aeshnidae. □ Morning is a great time to get a photo of a common green darner. They are less active in cooler morning air (so they stay put for a photo), and the female’s abdomen also often takes on a lovely pink hue — it turns green once she warms. (See comment below). Photographed and identified by: Sue Isaac. Nicely done, Sue! Location: Granger, Indiana, USA. Date: 20 July, 2022. Sue says, “I was deadheading and wasn’t going to do that plant until I got photos of that beauty. Taken at 8:31 a.m.” For non-gardeners, deadheading is removing spent flowers. |
Regal darner, Coryphaeschna ingens, family Aeshnidae. □ A large dragonfly, the regal darner typically has a body length of 3-3.5 inches (7.7-8.9 cm). It is one of three species in North America that are members of the genus Coryphaeschna, which are collectively known as pilot darners. This species is found in south-central and southeastern United States. □ The male has green eyes, as shown, and the female has blue eyes. The pattern of thin green lines on the abdomen, which look rather like incomplete boxes, and the broad stripes on the sides of the thorax help identify this species. Photographed by: Marv Goldberg. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Tamarac, Florida, USA. Date: 5 April, 2023. |
□ Would you like a list of all the dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata) families in one handy place? We made one for you! To see it, click here. |
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Libellulidae, the skimmer dragonflies
Comanche skimmer, male, Libellula comanche, family Libellulidae. □ The comanche skimmer has sculpted sides on its thorax, visible in the left photo. Other features of this dragonfly include bicolored pterostigma (the cell at the outer edge of each wing) and white face. □ The male, shown here, has a sky-blue body color with black-and-white pterostigma, while the female’s body is a patchwork of brown, pale mint-green and yellow, and has black-and-yellowish pterostigma. To see the female, click here (BugGuide). Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Hunt, Texas, USA. Date: 7 August, 2020. Robert says, “Beautiful and new to me.” |
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Broad-bodied chaser, sometimes called a flat-bodied chaser, female, Libellula depressa, family Libellulidae. □ Adult broad-bodied chasers have dark-brown patches at the base of their wings, a small dark cell (called a pterostigma) at each wingtip, and a row of elongated yellow spots down each side of the abdomen. The female (shown here) has a brown abdomen, while the male’s abdomen is chalky blue, which makes it harder to see the yellow spots. Photographed by: Tim Dibley. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England, UK. Date: 11 June, 2018. Tim says, “Working at the Farnborough Airshow and this just arrived in the pavilion we are working in. Never seen a dragonfly with such a wide abdomen.” |
Broad-bodied chaser, sometimes called a flat-bodied chaser, female, Libellula depressa, family Libellulidae. □ This photo shows off the six light-blue patches on the front half of this broad-bodied chaser’s body. For more information on this beautiful, click here. □Note: This dragonfly’s is sometimes listed as Platetrum or Ladona. Photographed by: James Poltorak. Submitted by: Antoni Poltorak. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: St. Albans, Hertfordshire, southern England, UK. Date: 25 May, 2020. James snapped this photo in his father Antoni’s front yard. Of this dragonfly, Antoni says, “We have never seen one of these before.” |
Golden-winged skimmer, female, Libellula auripennis, family Libellulidae. □ The golden-winged skimmer and Needham’s skimmer are near look-alikes. One way to tell them apart is by peering at the anal loop, which is a section of each hind wing that has an outline rather like a little boot. The golden-winged skimmer had three cells at the top of the boot; Needham’s has four, Click on the photo to see the anal loop and cell count. For more on this difference, click here (G & J Strickland’s webpage. Photographed by: Marv Goldberg. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: Tamarac, Florida, USA. Date: 13 April, 2022. |
Golden-winged skimmer, Libellula auripennis, family Libellulidae. □ This golden-winged skimmer is aptly named with the golden veins in its wings. Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 4 August, 2018. |
Roseate skimmer, male, Orthemis ferruginea, family Libellulidae. □ Male roseate skimmers are often seen “patrolling” over ponds. This involves zipping back and forth over one area, and defending their territory from rival males. Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Camp Meeting Creek, Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 27 April, 2019. |
 Roseate Skimmer, female, Orthemis ferruginea, family Libellulidae. □ An interesting feature of the female roseate skimmer is the pair of small, downward flaps on the rear of her abdomen (shown in the photo at right). Rather than dropping her eggs into the water, she uses the flaps to pick up a drop of water, lays one egg at a time so it lies within the droplet, and then flicks her abdomen to toss the egg-containing droplet onto some emergent vegetation. When the egg hatches, the young (called a naiad) falls into the water to continue its development. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages Florida, USA. Date: 5 August, 2018. |
Roseate skimmer, male, Orthemis ferruginea, family Libellulidae. □ The male of the roseate skimmer, shown here, is pink with a bit of a purple cast on its thorax, and burgundy eyes. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages Florida, USA. Date: 1 May, 2018. Sheldon notes that this Roseate Skimmer has captured a bee for lunch. |
Halloween pennant, Celithemis eponina, family Libellulidae. □ The wings of Halloween pennant may be all yellow with black markings, as seen here. Sometimes, however, the wings have the yellow coloration only on the half nearest the body; the rest is slightly yellow or nearly transparent. Photographed and identified by: Kelly McKinne (@gonzonaturalist). Location: Perrysburg, Ohio, USA. Date: 19 June, 2015. |
Halloween pennant, female, Celithemis eponina, family Libellulidae. □ Compare this Halloween pennant to the similar-looking calico pennant, shown elsewhere on this page. The wings of the Halloween pennant have an orange cast (easily seen in this photo), whereas the calico pennant’s wings are clear. Photographed and identified by: Rosalind B. Miller (of Adelaide, South Australia). Location: On the Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. Date: 19 October, 2018. Ros says, “Thanks so much for your site. I was able to identify it (at least I think that I got it right!).” KnowYourInsects.org says, “Great job of identification, Ros!” |
Halloween pennant, female, Celithemis eponina, family Libellulidae. □ The bicolored eyes and tiny antennae, as well as the delicate leg spines, are shown in this nice close-up of a Halloween pennant. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 16 October, 2018. Sheldon says, “Six legs connected to body at three points and it looks like each leg can be controlled.” KnowYourInsects.org says, “Yes! Each pair of legs is connected to one of the three segments of an insect’s thorax: front to back, the segments are called the prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax.” |
Chalk-fronted corporal, immature male, Ladona julia, family Libellulidae. □ The name of the chalk-fronted corporal makes note of the two chalky “shoulder bars” on the thorax. The bars are most prominent on an adult male, and do not show up as well on this immature male. Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Michaywé, Ostego County, Michigan, USA. Date: 18 June, 2015. |
□ Would you like a list of all the dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata) families in one handy place? We made one for you! To see it, click here. |
Graphic flutterer, also known as a banded flutterer, Rhyothemis graphiptera, family Libellulidae. □ This graphic flutterer looks quite similar to a Halloween pennant, but it is from Australia and nearby lands, while the Halloween pennant is a North American species. Photographed and identified to order by: Georgina Greenhill. Location: Marine Parade in Kingscliff, New South Wales. Date: 2 December, 2019. Georgina says, “I wondered if the aeroplane named Tiger Moth was based on the design of this insect!” |
Common picture wing, also known as variegated flutterer, female, Rhyothemis variegata, family Libellulidae. □ The female common picture wing has much more black on her wings than the male. Photographed by: Vinus Patle. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: Balaghat, Madhyapradesh, India. Date: 20 March, 2022. |
Common picture wing, also known as variegated flutterer, male, Rhyothemis variegata, family Libellulidae. □ This view of the common picture wing shows the black patch on each hind wing — it almost looks like a W. □ An alternate common name is variegated flutterer, which refers to their fluttering flight. Photographed by: Bunneko Bun Bun. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: Kailashahar, Tripura, India. Date: 29 July, 2019. |
Four-spotted pennant, male, Brachymesia gravida, family Libellulidae. □ The four-spotted pennant is aptly named with its one large dark spot on each wing. It also has a white stigma at the front tip of each wing. The mature male (shown here) has a blue thorax. Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 5 June, 2018. |
Four-spotted pennant, female, Brachymesia gravida, family Libellulidae. □ The female four-spotted pennant (shown here) has a brown thorax and abdomen, and a white stigma at the front tip of each wing. The male is seen in the previous photo. Photographed and identified to family by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 17 July, 2018. |
Four-spotted pennant, male, Brachymesia gravida, family Libellulidae. Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Kerrville reservoir of the Guadalupe river near the Thompson Parkway, Texas, USA. Date: 28 July, 2017. Robert also has posted videos of the prince baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca princeps) here; the Kiowa dancer damselfly (Argia immunda) here; and the dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) here. |
Four-spotted pennant, male, Brachymesia gravida, family Libellulidae. □ The four-spotted pennant has touches of brown on the sides of its abdomen. They can be difficult to spot! Photographed and identified by: Leslie M. Bowden. Nicely done, Leslie! Location: southern Florida, USA. Date: August, 2021. |
Black saddlebags, Tramea lacerata, family Libellulidae. □ This photo of a black saddlebags gives a nice view of the wing veining. The abdomen is hidden a bit in this photo, but if it weren’t, it would help determine whether it was a male or female. The male’s abdomen is just about all black, while the female’s has bands of yellow. □ Although black saddlebags will sometimes alight (as seen here), they are usually seen on the wing. Photographed and identified by: Hunter Chaney. Location: Independence, Missouri, USA. Date: 9 September, 2020. |
Black Saddlebags Dragonfly, Tramea lacerata, family Libellulidae. □ Those big, black splotches on the otherwise-clear hind wings are characteristics of black saddlebags dragonflies. Compare this dragonfly’s wings to those of the widow skimmer shown elsewhere on this page. Photographed and identified by: L. Craig. Location: Downtown Detroit, Michigan, USA. Date: 30 September, 2016. Craig says, “It’s such an interesting yet intimidating looking insect (especially those wings)!!.” |
Black saddlebags, male, Tramea lacerata, family Libellulidae. □ Most male black saddlebags have a bit of gold on one segment of the abdomen, but this one is heavy on the bling! The photographer notes that such a broad gold band is common among black saddlebags in Texas. In contrast, females of this species have multiple gold abdominal bands. Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Wolf Creek, 5 miles north of Kerrville, Texas USA. Date: 9 May, 2021. Robert also has posted videos of the prince baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca princeps) here; the Kiowa dancer damselfly (Argia immunda) here; and the dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) here. |
Black saddlebags, Tramea lacerata, family Libellulidae. □ Some black saddlebags spend their whole lives in one area, but others migrate south for the winter, and back north for the summer. Although they are not uncommon dragonflies, scientists don’t know much about how far individuals can migrate, or what routes they take. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: April, 2018. |
Carolina saddlebags, Tramea carolina, family Libellulidae. □ Carolina saddlebags have large black blotches (the “saddlebags”) on the hind wings, black markings on the end of the abdomen, and red wing veins. Photographed and identified by: Kelly McKinne (@gonzonaturalist). Location: Chestnut Grove Nature Area, Conestoga, Pennsylvania, USA. Date: 8 July, 2017. Kelly says, “I was shocked to see such a large ‘crimson’ dragonfly, so I knew it would be a good species for me. It sure was large.” |
Carolina saddlebags, female, Tramea carolina, family Libellulidae. □ The female Carolina saddlebags, shown here, is mainly yellow; the male is much redder. Photographed and identified to order by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 8 March, 2018. |
Carolina saddlebags, Tramea carolina, family Libellulidae. □ The Carolina saddlebags looks almost identical to the closely related red saddlebags (Tramea onusta). One difference is how much of the hind wing is covered by the black blotch: The red saddlebags has a larger clear section in the hind wing. See the red saddlebags elsewhere on this page. Photographed and identified to order by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 1 March, 2018. |
Wandering glider, also known as a globe skimmer, male and female, Pantala flavescens, family Libellulidae. □ This wonderful photo shows a pair of wandering gliders in flight. The male is in front and is clasping the female just behind her head. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 21 August, 2017. Sheldon says, “She dips down to deposit eggs in the water thus causing ripples in the water they then fly off together. |
Wandering glider, also known as a globe skimmer, Pantala flavescens, family Libellulidae. □ This photo of a female wandering glider gives a good idea of its species name, flavescens, which is Latin for yellowish, although only the females and immature males are yellowish. The males are red. Its genus name of Pantala is a Greek word meaning meandering or wandering. Photographed by: Thomas Langhans. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 5 July, 2021. |
Wandering glider, also known as a globe skimmer, Pantala flavescens, family Libellulidae. □ These photos of the wandering glider showcase the wing venation (veins) and the pterostigma, the colored “windowpane” on the forward edge of the wingtips. Photographed by: Thomas Langhans. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. See his full-size images here and here.. Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 13 July, 2016. |
□ Some species of dragonflies migrate. The wandering glider is the longest migrant, traveling up to 8,700 miles (14,000 km) — sometimes more! — between their spring/summer breeding grounds and wintering grounds. To read more, click here Insects). |
Wandering glider, Pantala flavescens, family Libellulida. □ The wandering glider has a very wide geographic distribution, which gives it the alternate common name of globe skimmer. Photographed and identified by: Eric Blehaut. Great job on the ID, Eric! Location: Bang Krang, Nonthaburi, Thailand. Date: 16 January, 2024. |
Dragonfly emerging, possibly a wandering glider, Pantala flavescens, family Libellulidae. □ This photo captures the transformation of an immature naiad into an adult. Click on the photo to see the tail end of the dragonfly, which is still emerging from the shell of the naiad. To see a close-up of a naiad, click here. Photographed and identified by: Katelyn Kessler. Discovered by: Katelyn’s 4-year-old son Gavin Smith. Nice spotting, Gavin! Location: Minto-Brown Island Park, Salem, Oregon, USA. Date: 14 May, 2020. Katelyn and Gavin were hiking with their dog near the muck around a pond when they saw this dragonfly . Katelyn says, “I’m pretty positive it was a wandering glider because there were others in the area.” |
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Blue dasher, male, Pachydiplax longipennis, family Libellulidae. □ The abdomen of the male blue dasher is chalky blue, while that of the female (right) has yellow patterning. In the central and eastern North America, both sexes have tiger striping on the thorax, as seen above, but farther west, the male has a chalky blue thorax instead. Photographed and identified to family by: Brian Hendry. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org Location: Edmond, Oklahoma, USA. Date: 7 June, 2017. |
Blue dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis, family Libellulidae. □ As the immature male blue dasher develops, his abdomen becomes more of a chalky blue starting at the end and moving forward, so the final abdominal segments to turn blue are those closest to the thorax. Photographed and identified to order by: Thomas Langhans. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. See his full-size image here.. Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 20 July, 2016. |
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Blue dasher, male, Pachydiplax longipennis, family Libellulidae. □ The green eyes on this male blue dasher show up well in this photo. Photographed and identified to order by: Darren Keller. Location: Fayetteville North Carolina, USA. Date: 8 September, 2020. |
Blue dasher, female, Pachydiplax longipennis, family Libellulidae. □ This blue dasher looks like she is doing a handstand, which is called an obelisk posture. This forward tip of her body helps to shield the body from as much direct sunlight as possible, so they stay cooler in the heat of the day. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: April, 2018. |
Blue dasher, female, Pachydiplax longipennis, family Libellulidae. □ According to BugGuide, the red in the eyes is of the blue dasher indicative of a juvenile male. Adults have blue eyes. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 2 August, 2018. |
Blue dasher, female, Pachydiplax longipennis, family Libellulidae. □ This female blue dasher is sitting with her wings cocked downward, which is a typical posture on a hot day. The downward wing tilt helps to shade the thorax (look closely to see the shadow on the thorax in the photo above) and keeps the insect a bit cooler. Photographed by: David Zack. Location: South Glens Falls, New York, USA. Date: 17 June, 2024. David says, “Was curious acting, kept turning its head to look at me while I was trying to get a picture 😄 ” |
□ Would you like a list of all the dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata) families in one handy place? We made one for you! To see it, click here. |
Spot-tailed dasher, male, Micrathyria aequalis, family Libellulidae. □ The male spot-tailed dasher is pale blue with an abdomen that gradually darkens toward the rear and has two distinctive white markings a few segments from the end, as seen here. The female is has considerable almost tiger-like brown and cream striping. Both male and female have black pterostigma (the dark cells near the tip of each wing). Photographed by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Brownsville, Texas, USA. Date: 18 October, 2019. |
Tri-colored marshhawk, male, Orthetrum luzonicum, family Libellulidae. □ The male tri-colored marshhawk often has more black on the thorax, but some — like this one — are almost entirely pale blue. Photographed by: Bhuvan Raj. Location: Bengaluru Urban, Karnataka, India. Date: 22 May, 2020. |
Slender skimmer, Orthetrum sabina, family Libellulidae. □ The pale yellowish-green slender skimmer is also known as a green marsh hawk. It has a characteristic black pattern down its abdomen. Photographed and identified as a dragonfly by: Kishan Rajah. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Malaysia. Date: 12 August, 2020. |
Slender skimmer, Orthetrum sabina, family Libellulidae. □ Characteristics of the slender skimmer include a pair of light marks on the thorax (often wider than in this individual), and three pairs of light markings running down the side of the abdomen, which gives the dark brown center a wavy appearance. Photographed by: Marlene. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Dubai Zoo, UAE. Date: 29 January, 2018. |
Common whitetail, male, Plathemis lydia, family Libellulidae. □ Male common whitetails are often seen patrolling their territories over a body of water. They fly back and forth, watching for encroaching rivals — other males — and fly at them to drive them away. Photographed by: Amy Thomas. Location: North Versailles, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Date: 15 July, 2020. |
Common whitetail, male, Plathemis lydia, family Libellulidae. □ The mature male common whitetail (shown here) has a white abdomen, a wide black splotch on each wing, and a narrower strip of black on the leading edge of each wing. An immature male has the same wings, but has a brown abdomen, much like that of the female (shown in the next photos). Photographed by: Hector Rodriguez. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. See his full-size image here. Location: Woodstock, Illinois, USA. Date: 7 June, 2017. Hector says, “It’s interesting the difference between the male and the female.” |
Common whitetail, female, Plathemis lydia, family Libellulidae. □ The female common whitetail (shown here) has a brown abdomen with white or yellowish-white spots on each side, and each of her wings has three dark patches. Compare the female to the male in the previous photos. Photographed and identified to family by: Denise Schütz. Identified by KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Royal Oak, Michigan, USA. Date: 28 May, 2019. Denise and her husband are recent transplants to Michigan from the Netherlands. She says, “We have traveled a lot around the world, but we have never seen this kind of dragonfly before.” |
Common whitetail, female, Plathemis lydia, family Libellulidae. □ The female common whitetail (shown here) has an abdomen that looks much like that of a young immature male. As the immature male ages, however, his abdomen begins to take on a lighter blue hue, and as an adult, the male has a white abdomen, which is the feature that gives this species the common name of whitetail. Photographed by: Michelle Von Sutphen. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Albany, New York, USA. Date: 10 June, 2011. |
Eastern pondhawk, female, Erythemis simplicicollis, family Libellulidae. □ The female eastern pondhawk (pictured here) is bright green with black markings on the abdomen, similar to the immature male (shown elsewhere on this page). Photographed and identified by: Kelly McKinne (@gonzonaturalist). Location: Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Ohio, USA. Date: 29 August, 2015. Kelly says, “Eastern Pondhawk being cooperative for a picture today. Great dragonfly.” |
Eastern pondhawk, male, Erythemis simplicicollis, family Libellulidae. □ This male eastern pondhawk is chalky blue. Compared to the female’s green, it is quite a contrast! Photographed by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 1 May, 2018. Sheldon says has been searching for a male Eastern Pondhawk to photograph and finally got one. He says, “During the time that I have been on the lookout for a male I could have taken thousands of photos of the female. The females will fly around me, then land close and pose for photos. The male is very elusive. After weeks of being on the lookout, I only have one image of the male.” |
Eastern pondhawk, male, Erythemis simplicicollis, family Libellulidae. □ This male eastern pondhawk’s green eyes are a standout against the chalky blue of the body. The frons (the pad at the front of the head) is also green. Photographed by: Alicia Blankenship. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. Date: 28 July, 2020. Alicia says got a visit from this dragonfly in her yard. She says, “It’s very friendly as it gave me a handshake and let me take multiple pictures.” |
Ruby or cherry-faced meadowhawk, Sympetrum rubicundulum or Sympetrum internum, family Libellulidae. □ The reddish face, black legs and clear wings help to identify this as either a male ruby or cherry-faced meadowhawk. Red males of other species in the area where this one was photographed (northern Lower Michigan), have white or yellowish faces; sections of noticeable color on the wings; and/or legs that are yellowish-brown. Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Michaywé, Otsego County, Michigan, USA. Date: July, 2016. |
Ruby meadowhawk, male, Sympetrum rubicundulum or Sympetrum internum, family Libellulidae. □ This ruby or cherry-faced meadowhawk has a “dirty” white face, as shown in the enlarged photo at right. The closely related white-faced meadowhawk (shown elsewhere on this page) also has a white face, but lacks the noticeable smudge. Photographed and identified by: Leslie Pigeon. Location: Manistee National Forest, Newago County, Michigan, USA. Date: July, 2016. |
Ruby meadowhawk, male, Sympetrum rubicundulum or Sympetrum internum, family Libellulidae. □ The male ruby-faced meadowhawk and cherry-faced meadowhawk differ only in minute details, such as the shape of a grouping of small bumps at the forward section of the underside of the abdomen (this grouping is a sperm-storage and -delivery site, called the hamuli). Complicating matters further, a genetic study in 2007 suggests that the two may actually be the same species. Photographed and identified by: Dave Hare. Location: Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. Date: 5 October, 2021. |
Variegated meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum, family Libellulidae. □ See the photographer’s comment below. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size image here. Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 23 November, 2016. Thomas says, “I could not believe it when I saw it flying around today; haven’t seen a dragonfly for a long time now! ... I never imagined that dragonflies would have such color until I starting taking pictures of them.” |
Variegated meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum, family Libellulidae. □ This pair of variegated meadowhawks shows the color difference between the male (left) and female. Once the female is ready to lay her eggs, she will repeatedly dip her abdomen into the water while in flight (as seen here), depositing eggs into the water as she goes. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his series of full-size images here, here, here, here, here and here. Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 22 September, 2022. Thomas got this shot on a protected and gate-surrounded pond near Lions Field. He says, “The other day they had the gate open and they were nice enough to let me stay for awhile.” |
Variegated meadowhawk, female, Sympetrum corruptum, family Libellulidae. □ The soft gray-green, white and pale orange coloration of the abdomen looks translucent in this female variegated meadowhawk. Click the photo to zoom in and see the pale orange veins at the leading edge of each forewing. The male is often darker overall, and has bold red in place of the female’s orange. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. Nicely done, Thomas! See his full-size image here. Location: city of Brisbane, county of San Mateo, California, USA. Date: 1 November, 2023. |
White-faced meadowhawk, male, Sympetrum obtrusum, family Libellulidae. □ There are several species of similar-looking meadowhawks. The color of the face (technically the frons and clypeus) is key to identifying this white-faced meadowhawk. Photographed and identified by: Neil Boyle. Location: Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. Date: 19 July, 2017. |
White-faced meadowhawk, Sympetrum obtrusum, family Libellulidae. □ This is either a female or immature male white-faced meadowhawk, both of which are yellowish-brown. Adult males are red (see previous photo). Photographed and identified by: Leslie Mertz. Location: Michaywé, Ostego County, Michigan, USA. Date: July, 2015. |
White-faced meadowhawk, male, Sympetrum obtrusum , male, family Libellulidae. Photographed by: Daisy Rulz. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Mayville, Michigan, USA. Date: 2 July, 2017. |
Meadowhawk, female, possibly a yellow-legged meadowhawk, Sympetrum vicinum, family Libellulidae. Photographed and identified to genus by: Robert Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: South Fork Colorado, USA. Date: 17 July, 2022. |
Red-veined darter, also known as a red dragonfly, young male, Sympetrum fonscolombii, family Libellulidae. □ The male red-veined darter becomes redder as it ages. The female is mainly green with just the faintest hints of orange or red. Photographed by: Jean-Louis Metzger. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Marquenterre, France. Date: 5 August, 2016. |
Red-veined darter, also known as a red dragonfly, male, Sympetrum fonscolombii, family Libellulidae. □ The red veins are evident on this male red-veined darter. Photographed by: Jean-Louis Metzger. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Bilbao, Spain. Date: 3 May, 2008. |
Striped meadowhawk, Sympetrum pallipes, family Libellulidae. □ The striped meadowhawk has a thin black stripe running down the center of its abdomen, as well as a broken stripe running down each side of the abdomen. In addition, it has a row of three, small, light-colored squares behind each eye, and rectangular, light-colored markings on the thorax. All of those features are seen in this photo. Photographed by: Robert Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: South Fork Colorado, USA. Date: 17 July, 2022. |
Cardinal meadowhawk, male, Sympetrum illotum, family Libellulidae. □ This male cardinal meadowhawk is almost all red, including his face. He also has orange-red wing veins near the body on all four wings. The red body of the cardinal meadowhawk is also set off by two white teardrops on each side of its thorax. □ The female is more brown than red, but she still has hints of orange-red in her wing veins. The similar-looking ruby meadowhawk is found in the eastern United States; this one was photographed in California. Photographed and identified by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size images here and here. Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 29 August, 2017. |
Vagrant darter, Sympetrum vulgatum, male, family Libellulidae. □ The male vagrant darter is red, as shown, while the female has a greener color. Both have a white or whitish face. Photographed by: Diana Luntena. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Riga, Latvia. Date: 17 September, 2024. |
Meadowhawk in the genus Sympetrum, family Libellulidae. □ Young meadowhawks are typically yellow in color (as shown here). The Meadowhawks species are very difficult to distinguish even as adults, and the young ones are even more challenging. Photographed and identified to order by: Jamie Rizzle. Location: Michigan, USA. Date: 22 August, 2019. |
Meadowhawk, immature, in the genus Sympetrum, family Libellulidae. Photographed and identified to genus by: Megan McMahon. Location: Lower Michigan, USA. Date: July, 2019. Megan said this was “the first time I’ve tried identifying rather that just admiring.” KnowYourInsects.org says, “Way to go, Megan!” |
Dragonfly, naiad, quite possibly a meadowhawk in the genus Sympetrum, family Libellulidae. □ This naiad (the pre-adult stage of a dragonfly that lives underwater) may well be a meadowhawk. The photographer found this one on shore (see her comments below), so it had probably just crawled out of the water to make its transition to an adult. Photographed by: Tiffany Korths. Location: Peru, New York, USA. Date: 14 April, 2020. Tiffany says, “I found the little guy belly up on the beach...cold & sad but still moving. Poor little dude. My 7-year-old and I put him up on the beach rocks and placed a leaf on him for shelter.” |
Eastern amberwing, female, Perithemis tenera, family Libellulidae. □ The female eastern amberwing has more black spotting and blotching in her wings than the male of the species, and in some cases, almost half of her wing is covered with dark markings. Photographed and identified by: Sheldon L. Boyd. Location: The Villages, Florida, USA. Date: 21 April, 2018. |
Red rock skimmer, Paltothemis lineatipes, family Libellulidae. □ This red rock skimmer was dead so its color has faded. When alive, the males of this species have deep red eyes and a red body, while the females have brownish-red eyes and brown bodies. Both have intricate yellow/cream patterns down the abdomen. To see other photos of this species, click here (Arizona Dragonflies website). Photographed by: Thomas Langhans. See his full-size images here and here Location: San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, USA. Date: 1 October, 2020. Thomas says the wingspan about 100 mm. He is particularly fond of the shot at right, and remarks “I especially like the tiny antenna.” |
Rufous marsh glider, Rhodothemis rufa, family Libellulidae. □ The male rufous marsh glider has a red abdomen, brown thorax with some red markings, and amber smudges at the base of its hind wings. The female is tan with a white stripe down the center of her back. Photographed by: Rekha Yadav. Location: Ramnagar (Corbett City), Uttarakhand, India. Date: 24 April, 2020. |
Swift setwing, Dythemis velox, family Libellulidae. □ The swift setwing has a row of white spots down its abdomen, thin white lines on a brown thorax, and dark edging at the tips of its wings. Be sure to read the photographer’s comments below! Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Guadalupe Park, Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 3 October, 2021. Robert says, “Note the flock of red water mites on its belly” and adds, “They don’t affect the lifespan of the host, but they do reduce its chances to mate! Well duh! What self-respecting female dragonfly would date a guy covered with mites!” |
Black setwing, male, Dythemis nigrescens, family Libellulidae. □ The male black setwing has a dark body with a slender abdomen, dark pterostigma (the wing cell at the forward outer edge of each wing), and small black smudges at the tips of its wings. The wing smudges can be very slight. □ Both the male and female have the wing smudge and pterostigma, but the female has a lighter-colored body. To see the female, click here (BugGuide). Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. Well done, Robert! See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Uncertain, but probably Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 14 October, 2004. Robert says, “It is resting on smooth beggarticks, which grows from all southern United States into South America.” Smooth beggarticks (Bidens laevis) is also known as larger bur-marigold. |
Band-winged dragonlet, female, Erythrodiplax umbrata, family Libellulidae. □ The female band-winged dragonlet has wings that are each tinged with yellow, and with a brown pterostigma (the cell at the front tip of each wing). The male has a large black band through each wing, as seen here (BugGuide). □ It is closely related to the little blue dragonlet in the previous photo. Photographed by: Marv Goldberg. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Tamarac, Florida, USA. Date: 7 September, 2021. |
Dragonfly naiad, unknown species. □ This is the exuviae (the casing) of dragonfly naiad (the immature form), after the adult has emerged. An immature dragonfly is known as a naiad instead of a nymph (as many other immature insects are called), because it lives underwater instead of on land. (Note: Naiad is pronounced NIE-add.) Photographed by: Gary Silberstein. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Walloon Lake, Charlevoix/Emmet Counties, Michigan, USA. Date: 19 June, 2015. |
Dragonfly naiad, unknown species. □ A dragonfly naiad (the immature form) lives underwater for many months, sometimes for more than a year, and when it’s ready to become an adult, it crawls out of the water and onto land. There, its thorax splits open (where the white “threads” are in this photo), and an adult emerges. The white threads are actually tracheal tubes that the naiad uses to breathe. Photographed by: Dean Jenkins. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Hampshire, on the southern coast of England. Date: 9 July, 2018. Dean says he found it in his garden. |
Some insect groups, including the dragonflies and damselflies in the order Odonata, are hemimetabolous, which means they go through three distinct stages: eggs, aquatic immatures (called naiads, sometimes underwater nymphs) and terrestrial adults. |
Dragonfly exuviae (shed), unknown species. □ Once the adult has emerged from the naiad (the naiad shed is shown here), the adult’s wings expand and harden, and the adult flies off. Photographed by: Anonymous. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Century Park, Shanghai, China. Date: 9 July, 2018. Upon learning that this was a dragonfly exuviae, the photographer commented, “There were indeed tons of dragonflies around the park.” |
Corduliidae, the emerald dragonflies
Macromiidae, the cruisers
Stream cruiser, male, Didymops transversa, family Macromiidae. □ The stream cruiser is a species in a small family — just three or four genera in the world, and only nine species in the United States, where this photo was taken. It is a fairly large species at about 2 inches (5 cm) in body length. □ The male and female can be distinguished by looking at the small appendages at the rear of the abdomen. If it has a pair of appendages with a third one in the center (the dark brown bit, which is called an epiproct and is visible in the right photo), it is a male. Photographed and identified by: Photographed and identified to order by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Kerrville, Texas. Date: 16 March, 2018. |
Cruisers get their name from the way they fly: typically cruising straight down the center of streams. They will also zip down the middle of roads. |
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Cordulegastridae, the spiketails
Golden-ringed dragonfly, Cordulegaster boltonii , family Cordulegastridae. □ The green eyes and yellow split striping on the abdomen are prominent on this golden-ringed dragonfly. Notice also the eyes, which are oblong with the inner tip of each touching in the center. Photographed by and identified by: Paul Davis. Location: Ruislip Woods Nature Reserve, UK. Date: July 2021. |
Delta-spotted spiketail, Cordulegaster diastatops, family Cordulegastridae. □ This delta-spotted spiketail lives up to its name with the row of yellow triangles (delta symbols) running down each side of the abdomen. Photographed by: Joan Lovell. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Green Mountain National Forest, Searsburg, Vermont, USA. Date: 19 June, 2022. |
Dragonflies in this family are called spiketails because of the spike that extends from the rear of the female. She uses the spike to spear the sediment or sand at the bottom of shallow water and lay her eggs. To see the spike up close, click here (BugGuide). |
Gomphidae, the clubtail dragonflies
Small pincertail, also known as green-eyed hook-tailed dragonfly, male, Onychogomphus forcipatus, family Gomphidae. □ This small pincertail and other species in this family are known as clubtails because the males in many species have a widening at the end of the abdomen that is somewhat club-shaped. Females often do not have a noticeable widening, and the males of some species may not have it either. Photographed by: Jean-Louis Metzger. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Gorges de l´Ardèche, Massif Central, France. Date: 22 June, 2015. Jean-Louis says, “This very yellow dragonfly caught my attention.” |
Dragonhunter, Hagenius brevistylus, family Gomphidae. □ The dragonhunter gets its name because it eats other dragonflies, as well as additional insects, including butterflies (even large ones). A close look at the left photo shows that this one is munching on a dragonfly — that’s the tail of another dragonfly hanging out of its mouth! Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Date: 2 August, 2010. |
Dragonhunter, Hagenius brevistylus, family Gomphidae. □ The dragonhunter is a large dragonfly, measuring 3-3.5 inches (about 75-90 mm) long. Photographed by: Kenny Fendler. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: northwestern Arkansas, USA. Date: 28 September, 2019. |
Sulphur-tipped clubtail, Phanogomphus militaris, family Gomphidae. □ This appears to be a teneral (recently-molted) sulphur-tipped clubtail. The markings on the abdomen will darken as time goes by. Note: This was formerly known by the scientific name Gomphus militaris. Photographed by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Identified by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Louise Hayes Park, Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 4 June, 2017. |
Five-striped leaftail, Phyllogomphoides albrighti, family Gomphidae. □ The five-striped leaftail has a pattern of stripes on its thorax that alternates between narrow and wide stripes. The very similar-looking four-striped leaftail (Phyllogomphoides stigmatus) typically has a narrow stripe followed by two wider stripes and ending with an even wider stripe. To see the four-striped leaftail, click here (BugGuide). Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Guadalupe River, Kerrville, Texas, USA. Date: 10 July, 2020. |
Clubtail, likely midland clubtail, Gomphurus fraternus, family Gomphidae. □ Several species of clubtails look a lot alike, but this one appears to be a midland clubtail. For a list (and photos!) of dragonfly species in Wisconsin, where this photo was taken, check out the Wisconsin Odonata Survey. Photographed and identified to family by: Mindy Blumenberg. Identified to tentative species by: Robert B. DuBois, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources biologist who helps coordinate the Wisconsin Odonata Survey. Thank you, Robert! Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. Date: 1 July, 2020. |
Russet-tipped clubtail, male, Stylurus plagiatus, family Gomphidae. □ As seen in this photo, russet-tipped clubtail is mainly green and black/brown, but has a reddish-orange abdomen. The male, seen here, has an expanded club on the end of his abdomen, while the female does not. Both sexes have green eyes, similar striped patterns on the thorax, and a brown pterostigma (the little colored cell)on the tip of each wing. Photographed and identified as a dragonfly by: Joyce Swendsen. Identified to species by: KnowYourInsects.org. Location: Ocala National Forest, Salt Springs, Florida. Date: 10 September, 2020. Joyce snapped this shot in her yard. She says, “Bright green and black, green eyes.” |
Eastern ringtail dragonfly, male, Erpetogomphus designatus, family Gomphidae. □ This colorful male eastern ringtail sports a banded abdomen that finishes in orange,; a brown-marked, lime-green thorax; and pale blue eyes. It is usually found along rivers, as was this one. Photographed and identified by: Robert E. Carpenter. See Robert’s collection of Texas dragonflies and damselflies here. Location: Nueces River near Camp Wood, Texas, USA. Date: 21 August, 2021. Robert says, “From the sweltering banks of the Nueces River … 98 degrees F.” |
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