Odanata abuzz in NWPA
Dragonflies and damselflies (Odanata) inhabit areas near water and wetlands throughout NWPA. These winged insects spend most of their lives as aquatic nymphs under the water’s surface. For a few months during the summer they emerge near pools of water.
Dragonflies can hover in place and are also able to move in six different directions. They can fly side to side, up, down, back, and forward. Dragonflies have a 360 degree field of vision. Dragonflies also have 30,000 lenses per eye, compared to a human’s eye that has one lens. These creatures were around an estimated 300 million years ago. This means they have been around before the dinosaurs!
There are more than 5,000 different species of dragon flies and damselflies in the world. You can tell the two apart by their wings. Damselflies keep their wings tucked while at rest, while dragonfly wings are out to the sides and perpendicular to their bodies.
For a list of dragonflies and damselflies found in PA, please visit: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/dfly/pa/toc.htm .
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