Subclass Pterygota:
Pterous (winged) insects, develop by metamorphosis
Division Exopterygota
(exo = outer; pteron = wing)
Paleopteran orders
(Paleo = ancient; pteron = wing)
Order Odonata
(odontos = tooth)
COMMON NAMES: Dragonflies and damselflies
QUICK DESCRIPTION: Adults have long thin bodies, two pairs of long narrow wings, sharp biting mouthparts, and very large eyes. Dragonflies and damselflies are the best fliers of all insects. They are also predators, feeding on other insects which they catch during flight. The larvae live in water, and are also predators.
MINUTE DETAILS: Adults medium-sized to large elongate insects, frequently strikingly marked; head with antennae short and hair-like, compound eyes prominent, biting mouthparts; thorax with two pairs of membranous wings of approximately equal size and with netlike venation, pterostigma usually present; abdomen of male with copulatory organs on second and third sterna.
Larvae aquatic; head equipped with extensible "mask" (modified labium) for catching prey, antennae small, compound eyes large; abdomen terminated with three processes, either short and stocky or extended into large lamellate structures.
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