Odonata
Blue dragonfly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Odonata
Suborders
Anisoptera (dragonflies) Anisozygoptera Zygoptera (damselflies) Reference: ITIS 101593 (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=101593) as of 2002-07-26

Odonata (commonly known as dragonflies and damselflies) are insects with large round heads covered mostly by eyes, legs designed for catching prey in flight, two pairs of wings that can move independently, and long tails. Males have an organ at the back of their thorax which they use for storing sperm; they mate with the male holding the female's neck with the tip of his tail, and the female bending her tail forward to touch this organ. Some very large specimens have been found in fossils.

See also

• British Dragonfly Society

External links

• Odonata of the World (http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/worldodonates.html)
• Worldwide Dragonfly Association (http://powell.colgate.edu/wda/dragonfly.htm)
• DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES (Odonata Information Network) (http://www.afn.org/~iori/index.html)

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