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Lets discuss Damsels vs. Dragons - and no, I’m not talking about damsels in distress being saved from the dragon by a knight in shining armor. I’m talking about those colorful and fascinating insects that buzz around you while you canoe down Wisconsin’s beautiful winding rivers or spend time swimming in one of its scenic lakes.

 

Growing up I just assumed all of those insects were different types of dragonflies. It wasn’t until my adult years when I became interested in identification that I realized some of them were dragonflies, but some of them were a completely different species called Damselflies. When it comes to scientific classification, both are in the order Odonata but damselflies are in the suborder Zygoptera and dragonflies are classified in the suborder Anisoptera.

 

LARVAE

Both dragonflies and damselflies begin life in the water in a larval/nymph form. The larvae are carnivorous and prey upon smaller aquatic invertebrates until they are large enough to crawl out of the water and morph into their adult forms.
The larvae do look different, as seen below. You might notice that damselflies have 3 “tails” at the end of their abdomen. Interestingly enough, those are actually it’s gills! The dragonfly larvae lacks “tails” because it has internal gills.

 

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Damselfly Larvae                                                                  Dragonfly Larvae

 

 

ADULTS

While both of these insects are carnivorous and spend their time zipping through the air near waterways, if you look closely, they are easy to tell apart. The most basic ways to tell the difference damsels and dragons as adults are broken down below.

 

Eyes: Damselfly eyes are further spread apart and more to the side of the head while dragonfly eyes tend to sit on top/in the center of the head and almost be touching.

 

Wings: Dragonflies hold their wings out to the side flatly, resembling the wings on an airplane. Damselfly mostly hold their wings up above their bodies and together (with the exception of spread wing damselflies which hold their wings slightly spread to the sides but generally not as flat as dragonflies).

 

Body shape/size: In general damselflies are delicate and thin bodied while dragonflies tend to be robust or stocky.

 

Flight: Their flight patterns are a reflection of their body differences. Dragonflies have strong and purposeful flight- zooming around like fighter jets. Damselflies have weaker flight that reminds me more of a butterfly than a fighter jet.

 

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River Jewelwing Damselfly                                                    Common Pondhawk Dragonfly

 

There are plenty of websites to help you identify both damselflies and dragonflies but the resource that I have found the most helpful is the book “Dragonflies of the North Woods” by Kurt Mead. I actually bought it right in the Trees For Tomorrow gift shop! It lists a few common damselflies in the back but when I’m ready to up my damselfly game, I’ll be looking for “Damselflies of the North Woods” by Bob Dubois.

 

Author: Bethany Heft. Bethany is an Environmental Educator for Trees For Tomorrow.