Editing Dragonfly (section)

{{Short description|Predatory winged insects}}
{{About|the insect}}
{{Redirect|Anisoptera|other uses|Anisoptera (disambiguation)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2019}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Anisoptera
| fossil_range = {{fossil range/linked|Toarcian|Recent}}
| image = Gemeine Heidelibelle (Sympetrum vulgatum) 4.jpg
| image_caption = [[Vagrant darter]]<br/>''Sympetrum vulgatum''
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision = * [[Aeshnoidea]]
**[[Aeshnidae]] (hawkers or darners)
**[[Austropetaliidae]]
* Gomphoidea
**[[Gomphidae]] (clubtails)
* Petaluroidea
**[[Petaluridae]] (petaltails)
* [[Cordulegastroidea]]
**[[Chlorogomphidae]]
**[[Cordulegastridae]] (spiketails)
**[[Neopetaliidae]]
* [[Libelluloidea]]
**[[Libellulidae]] (skimmers, etc)
**[[Corduliidae]] (skimmers, etc)
**[[Macromiidae]] (cruisers)
**[[Synthemistidae]] (tigertails)
| subdivision_ref = <ref name="Dijkstra 2013">{{Cite journal |last1=Dijkstra |first1=Klaas-Douwe B. |last2=Bechly |first2=Günter |last3=Bybee |first3=Seth M. |last4=Dow |first4=Rory A. |last5=Dumont |first5=Henri J. |last6=Fleck |first6=Günther |last7=Garrison |first7=Rosser W. |last8=Hämäläinen |first8=Matti |last9=Kalkman |first9=Vincent J. |last10=Karube |first10=Haruki |last11=May |first11=Michael L. |last12=Orr |first12=Albert G. |last13=Paulson |first13=Dennis R. |last14=Rehn |first14=Andrew C. |last15=Theischinger |first15=Günther |last16=Trueman |first16=John W.H. |last17=Van Tol |first17=Jan |last18=von Ellenrieder |first18=Natalia |last19=Ware |first19=Jessica |date=2013 |title=The classification and diversity of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness (Addenda 2013) |url=https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.3703.1.9 |journal=Zootaxa |language=en |volume=3703 |issue=1 |pages=36–45 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3703.1.9 |doi-access=free |hdl=10072/61365 |hdl-access=free |issn=1175-5334 }}</ref><ref name="World Odonata List">{{World Odonata List|access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref> 
| authority = [[Edmond de Selys Longschamps|Selys]], 1854<ref name="Selys 1854">{{Cite book|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2687180|title=Monographie des caloptérygines|volume=t.9e|language=fr|last=Selys-Longchamps|first=E.|publisher=C. Muquardt|year=1854|location=Brussels and Leipzig|pages=1–291 [1–2]|doi=10.5962/bhl.title.60461}}</ref>
}}
A '''dragonfly''' is a [[flying insect]] belonging to the [[infraorder]] '''Anisoptera''' below the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Odonata]]. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are [[Tropics|tropical]], with fewer species in [[temperate regions]]. Loss of [[wetland]] habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterised by a pair of large, multifaceted, [[compound eye]]s, two pairs of strong, transparent [[insect wing|wings]], sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant [[iridescent]] or metallic colours produced by [[structural coloration]], making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's [[Arthropod eye|compound eyes]] have nearly 24,000 [[ommatidia]] each.

Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related [[damselflies]], which make up the other odonatan infraorder ([[Zygoptera]]) and are similar in [[body plan]], though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold their wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight. Dragonflies make use of [[motion camouflage]] when attacking prey or rivals.

Dragonflies are [[predatory insect]]s, both in their aquatic [[nymph (biology)|nymphal]] stage (also known as "naiads") and as adults. In some species, the nymphal stage lasts up to five years, and the adult stage may be as long as 10 weeks, but most species have an adult lifespan in the order of five weeks or less, and some survive for only a few days.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cannings |first1=Robert A. |last2= Stuart |first2=Kathleen M. |year=1977 |title=The Dragonflies of British Columbia |url=https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eirs/finishDownloadDocument.do?subdocumentId=1326 |edition=first |page=19 |location= Victoria, British Columbia, Canada | publisher= British Columbia Provincial Museum }}</ref> They are fast, agile fliers capable of highly accurate aerial ambush, sometimes migrating across oceans, and often live near water. They have a uniquely complex mode of reproduction involving indirect insemination, delayed fertilisation, and [[sperm competition]]. During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male's secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming the "heart" or "wheel" posture. 

Fossils of very large dragonfly-like insects, sometimes called [[meganisoptera|griffinflies]], are found from 325&nbsp;million years ago (Mya) in [[Upper Carboniferous]] rocks; these had wingspans up to about {{convert|750|mm|in|abbr=on}}, though they were only distant relatives. True dragonflies first appeared during the [[Early Jurassic]].

Dragonflies are represented in human culture on artefacts such as pottery, rock paintings, statues, and [[Art Nouveau]] jewellery. They are used in traditional medicine in Japan and China, and caught for food in Indonesia. They are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness in Japan, but seen as sinister in European folklore. Their bright colours and agile flight are admired in the poetry of [[Lord Tennyson]] and the prose of [[H. E. Bates]].