Why are they called damselflies?
Zygoptera (damselflies) means “equal winged,” while Anisoptera (dragonflies) means “unequal winged.” When they are not flying, damselflies usually hold their wings up over their backs (with the exception of spread-winged damsels), but dragonflies hold their wings open and to the sides.
How do Odonata feed?
Odonata feed on living prey throughout their adult life. When foraging, dragonflies can be categorized as “perchers” or “fliers.” Perchers spend much of their time stationary, making short flights from perches to capture prey and then perching to consume it. Odonata are typically generalists with few exceptions.
What do damselfly larvae eat?
insects
Diet/Feeding Damselfly nymphs are predatory, feeding on aquatic insects. They capture prey by using a modified lower lip (called a labium) that shoots out rapidly and seizes the prey item.
What do damselflies do?
Damselflies are extremely beautiful, beneficial predators because they help control populations of harmful insects. Adults consume large quantities of other insects such as flies, mosquitoes and moths and some eat beetles and caterpillars.
Do damselfly larvae eat tadpoles?
They are ferocious predators, both as larvae and as adults, and feed on invertebrates, tadpoles and even small fish.
What is a dragonfly baby?
Dragonfly and damselfly babies, also known as larvae or nymphs, spend months or years underwater growing to a couple of inches long and developing wings on their backs. As it turns out, dragonflies spend most of their lives as aquatic insects crawling around the bottom of ponds or streams.
Are dragonflies Holometabolous?
Dragonflies are hemimetabolous insects; they do not have a pupal stage and undergo an incomplete metamorphosis with a series of nymphal stages from which the adult emerges.
Where do Odonata live?
Odonates are globally distributed from the tropics, where they are most numerous and varied, to the boreal forests of Siberia and North America. They are also found throughout the Southern Hemisphere, with the exception of Antarctica.
Are damselflies harmless?
Damselflies have many nicknames, including damsels, bog dancers and devil’s darning needles. This last one especially might give cause for alarm, but not to worry, these insects are harmless and do not sting or bite–unless of course you are a mosquito, fly, or other insect.
What do damselfly look like?
They have a long and slender abdomen, two pairs of wings and three pairs of long legs. They also have very large eyes. Damselflies are insects. Adult damselflies have a long and slender abdomen, two pairs of wings and three pairs of long legs.
What is Zygoptera in biology?
Definition of Zygoptera. : a suborder of Odonata comprising forms that are distinguished from the typical dragonflies by a slenderer elongated body, by narrow equal wings held upright in repose, and by aquatic larvae that have a pair of paddle-shaped tracheal gills at the apex of the abdomen — see damselfly — compare anisoptera.
Is Zygoptera split into Anisoptera and Epiophlebia?
‘Assuming a relatively constant rate of change at the molecular level, our data indicate an ancient split between extant Zygoptera and Anisoptera + Epiophlebia.’ ‘Despite the diversity of insects consumed, only the proportion of Zygoptera larvae in the diet differed between reproductive periods.’
What is Anisozygoptera?
The Anisozygoptera consist of one small family found in the Himalayas and Japan. This group is considered a transitional element between the dragonflies and the damselflies. The adult body and immature characters resemble those of the Anisoptera, and wings are suggestive of the Zygoptera.
Do Zygoptera oviposit under water?
Many Zygoptera (e.g., Calopterygidae and Coeangrionidae), however, oviposit under water; and in some cases, the male accompanies the female in tandem. The imagines can go as deep underwater as 1 m, and the duration of uninterrupted underwater oviposition is often 30 min.