Form and function
Adults
Basic structure
The principal structural features of adult odonates reflect adaptations to flight. Adults have two pairs of narrow, typically transparent wings and a long, slender abdomen consisting of 10 segments. The head has prominent eyes and inconspicuous antennae, and the thorax is tilted along the body’s axis. The sloping thorax accommodates very large wing muscles and sets the legs forward, where they can best grasp prey. Consequently, odonates are well adapted to perching but are largely unable to walk on flat surfaces. Where the head joins the thorax, a delicate orientation organ maintains equilibrium during flight.
Odonates are considered to have excellent vision, and the large compound eyes, acutely responsive to movement and form, play an important role in capturing food and interacting with other individuals. In most dragonflies (suborder Anisoptera) the compound eyes meet at the top of the head and can consist of 30,000 individual optical units, or ommatidia. Their large eyes give some anisopterans a nearly 360-degree view of their environment. Among certain dragonflies of the family Aeshnidae that fly only in subdued light (e.g., Gynacantha), the eyes occupy almost the entire surface of the head. Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera), on the other hand, have eyes that are well separated. Odonates also possess three tiny simple eyes called ocelli.
At the opposite end of the body, another structural difference between the two suborders can be seen: male damselflies have four tail appendages, whereas dragonflies have only three.
Wings and flight
The large wings are strengthened by a complex network of veins. Each wing also has a thickened patch (the pterostigma) on the leading edge of the wing tip. The forewings of dragonflies are narrower than the hind wings, which in certain migratory species (genera Libellula, Pantala, and Tramea) are expanded, permitting gliding flight.
Odonates use their wings in a unique manner. Whereas other insects with four wings beat them synchronously, odonates can beat the fore and hind pairs independently. This allows three different modes of flight in which the pairs beat (1) synchronously, as those of other insects, (2) alternately between the two sets, or (3) synchronously but out of phase with each other. Such variations allow odonates a repertoire of aerobatic abilities that include hovering, backward flight, and turns of such tight radius that they are virtually midair pivots. Odonate aerodynamics have even been studied in the hope of applying the flight principles involved to aircraft.
Reproduction
The unique wheel position exhibited by Odonata can be regarded as a special way of transferring sperm. Instead of placing sperm on the ground or a leaf for the female to pick up (as certain primitive insects do), the male transfers it from genitalia near the tip of his abdomen to accessory sex organs at the base of his abdomen that are specially constructed to receive and transmit sperm to the female. Odonates that appear very similar may actually be different species; the sex organs are highly intricate and species-specific. Males have evolved various means of displacing the sperm of previous mates. Mating between species is hampered by the fact that odonates of the same species have interlocking structures on the male claspers and female head or prothorax that enable the wheel to be formed and made secure.
Larvae
Basic structure
Like the adults, odonate larvae have large eyes, and anisopterans are generally stockier than zygopterans. The most immediate method of distinguishing between larvae of the two suborders is by inspecting the abdomen. In most Zygoptera there are three external leaflike plates at the tip of the abdomen that function as gills. Among anisopterans the gills are internal growths of the hindgut wall that are ventilated as water is pumped in and out of the anus. Both respiratory systems are used in emergencies as methods for locomotion; jet propulsion via the anus is a particularly effective escape tactic employed by Anisoptera. Many zygopterans, on the other hand, use their leaflike plates to swim much as a fish uses its tail.
Unlike the adults, the larvae show many structural variations that reflect the demands of different aquatic microhabitats with respect to respiration, locomotion, feeding, and concealment. Species living within fine sediment (Aphylla), for example, are more or less cylindrical in cross-section, with a terminal siphon that maintains respiratory contact with the water above; those residing on the surface of mud or sand (Ictinogomphus) often are flattened, with prominent lateral spines on the abdomen; those living among plants near the surface (Anax, Lestes) are streamlined and very active.
Feeding
A larva captures prey in a very unusual way. Typically, it remains motionless until a victim is detected by sight or touch. When prey comes within range, the larva shoots out its highly developed, prehensile lower mouthpart (the labium), seizing the victim with the pincers at the end of it. The prey is then drawn back to the mandibles, where it is chewed and consumed. In the resting position the labium lies beneath the head and thorax, sometimes obscuring the front of the head; hence, it is commonly called the “mask.” It can be extended almost instantaneously (under 3/100 second) by a localized increase in blood pressure that is controlled by abdominal muscles.