Odonata | |
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Aeshna juncea hovering over a pond. | |
Scientific classification | |
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Order: | Odonata |
The Odonata are an order of flying insects, the dragonflies and damselflies.
Like most of the flying insects (flies, beetles, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera), they evolved in the early Mesozoic era. Their prototypes, the giant dragonflies of the Carboniferous, 325 mya, are no longer put in the Odonata. These are now called Protodonata or Meganisoptera.
The two suborders are easily distinguished:
All Odonata have aquatic larvae called 'nymphs', and all of them, larvae and adults, are carnivorous. The adults can land, but rarely walk. Their legs are specialised for catching prey. They are almost entirely insectivorous.
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