Life Cycle

• A dragonfly mating wheel.two dragonflies image by Oleg Mitiukhin from Fotolia.com
  
  Dragonflies are hatched from eggs laid in or near water. The young dragonflies, called nymphs or naiads, take three to five years to reach maturity, when they molt out of their old skin. Males have two sets of sex organs, and they mate in a circular formation. Most dragonflies can be found near streams, ponds or lakes.
  
  

Family Aeshnidae

• Common green darner (Anax junius).Dragonfly image by Treasure Box Photo from Fotolia.com
  
  The aeshnidae family features darners, the largest and fastest-flying dragonflies. They are called darners for the females' resemblance to darning needles, as they curve their abdomens and cut into plant stems to deposit their eggs. Most darners are blue and green, and some have black or yellow markings. They feed near lakes and ponds on insects and small fish. They can be found throughout North America and Europe.
  
  

Family Libellulidae

• Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa).get your wings image by gregg williams from Fotolia.com
  
  The largest family of dragonflies, libellulidae, contains more than 1,000 species, including pennants, meadowhawks, gliders, pondhawks, saddlebags, whitetails and skimmers. Their lower lips, or labium, create a mask over the lower part of the face. Many are bright-colored or with banded wings. They are common around the world.
  
  

Family Gomphidae

• Pale snaketail (Omphiogomphus severus).dragonfly image by Sviatlana Matskevich from Fotolia.com
  
  Gomphid dragonflies include clubtails and snaketails. They are characterized by widely separated compound eyes and sprawling legs. They mate and reproduce in streams but fly away from water in shady woods and along roadsides. Their primary range is along the West Coast of North America.
  
  

Family Cordulegastridae

• Twin-spotted spiketail (Cordulegaster maculata).dragonfly image by Radu Razvan from Fotolia.com
  
  This small family includes spiketails, which have brown or black bodies with yellow markings, usually in spots or stripes. They fly along small woodland streams, and females lay their eggs in sand in clear, shallow water.
  
  

Family Corduliidae

• Orange shadowdragon (Neurocordulia xanthosoma).dragonfly image by FttSniper from Fotolia.com
  
  The Corduliidae family includes cruisers, baskettails, green-eyed skimmers, sundragons, shadowdragons, boghaunters and emeralds. Many have emerald-green eyes, dark brown or black bodies and green or yellow markings. Hine's Emerald dragonfly is listed as endangered in the U.S., with small populations concentrated in the Midwest.
  
  

Damselflies

• A damselfly at rest.damsel flies, image by david purday from Fotolia.com
  
  Damselflies are closely related to and often mistaken for dragonflies, but can fold their wings back against their bodies when they are resting, and tend to be smaller. North American damselfly families include Calopterygidae (jewelwings, rubyspots, broad-winged damsels), Lestidae (spreadwings), Coenagrionidae (dancers, bluets, pond damsels) and Macromiidae (cruisers).