Damselflies
Zygoptera
Damselflies are insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller, have slimmer bodies, and most species fold the wings along the body when at rest. An ancient group, damselflies have existed since at least the Lower Permian, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
4 branches of this suborder, most-observed first · about 3,370 known species
Coenagrionoid Damselflies
superfamilyCoenagrionoidea
Calopterygoidea
superfamilyCalopterygoidea
Lestoidea
superfamilyLestoidea
Shadowdamsels
superfamilyPlatystictoidea
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Zygoptera in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 47928.