Odonata
Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. The two groups are distinguished with dragonflies (suborder Epiprocta) usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and wings folded together along body at rest. Adult odonates can land, but rarely walk.
| Odonata Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Aeshna juncea hovering over a pond. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| (unranked): | Dicondylia |
| Subclass: | Pterygota |
| Division: | Palaeoptera |
| Superorder: | Odonatoptera |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Suborders | |
All odonates have aquatic larvae called naiads or nymphs, and all of them, larvae and adults, are carnivorous and are almost entirely insectivorous, although at the larval stage they will eat anything that they can overpower, including small fish, tadpoles and even newts. The adults are superb aerial hunters and their legs are specialised for catching prey in flight.