What's an Odonate?

Also known as the "jewels" of the insect world, dragonflies and damselflies together make up the insect order Odonata. The Greek word "odon" means tooth, and the name here refers to the toothed jaws of these predatory insects.

Fortunately for us, dragonflies and damselflies use their formidable mandibles on mosquitoes, midges, and other pest insects.

Odonates are characterized by their long narrow abdomens, two pairs of large richly veined wings, and large compound eyes. They are often strikingly colored in bright green, blue, red, yellow, and violet. They are very good fliers, with dragonflies being much stronger on the wing than damselflies.

Dragonflies and damselflies are easily distinguished from one another. Dragonflies are generally larger, stouter, in addition to being stronger fliers.

The eyes of dragonflies are so large they often touch. Damselfly eyes are proportionally smaller than those of dragonflies and never touch. Dragonflies spend a great deal of time in the air, hunting, defending territory, and patrolling for a mate. When they do perch, their wings are spread open.

This is in contrast to damselflies which hold their wings together above the body when at rest, except in the damselfly group known as spreadwings. As the name implies, spreadwings do not fold their wings over the body, instead the wings rest slightly spread apart.

The dragonfly is the state insect for Washington state.