Dragonfly or Damselfly? How to Tell These Summer Fliers Apart

Warm, late-summer days bring them out in force: darting, hovering, metallic-blue and emerald fliers cruising the edge of a pond, a slow river, or even a backyard over the lawn. Dragonflies and damselflies are among the most-watched insects of the season — ancient, harmless, and mesmerizing to follow. They are close cousins (both belong to the order Odonata), and people constantly mix them up. The good news is that once you know three or four features, telling a dragonfly from a damselfly takes about two seconds.

Dragonfly vs Damselfly at a Glance

When one lands, look at these details in order — any single one of them usually gives you the answer:

• Wings at rest: a dragonfly holds its wings out flat to the sides, like a tiny airplane. A damselfly folds its wings back together over or alongside its body
• Body build: dragonflies are stout and thick-bodied; damselflies are slender and delicate, like a flying needle or a bit of colored thread
• The eyes: a dragonfly has huge eyes that wrap around the head and usually touch in the middle. A damselfly's eyes are clearly separated, one bulging out on each side, giving it a hammerhead look
• Flight: dragonflies are powerful, fast fliers that hover and patrol; damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight and tend to stay low near vegetation

If it is perched with its wings spread open and looks like a robust little fighter jet, it is a dragonfly. If it is a slim sliver holding its wings tucked back and flutters gently from stem to stem, it is a damselfly. (One group of damselflies, the spreadwings, breaks the wing rule by holding their wings half-open — but their needle-thin bodies and widely separated eyes still give them away.)

Are Dragonflies or Damselflies Dangerous?

Not in the slightest. Despite old folk names like "devil's darning needle" and myths about them stinging or sewing up your ears, neither dragonflies nor damselflies sting, and they will not bite people under normal circumstances. They have no stinger at all. A very large dragonfly held in the hand might pinch with its jaws, but that is the extent of it. They are entirely safe to be around and wonderful to watch.

Better still, they are on your side. Both adults and their aquatic young are voracious predators of mosquitoes, midges, gnats, and flies. A pond patrolled by dragonflies is a pond with fewer biting insects. Welcoming them — by keeping some native plants and clean water nearby — is one of the more pleasant forms of natural pest control there is.

Common Types You Will See in Late Summer

North America has hundreds of species, but a handful turn up again and again this time of year:

• Skimmers — broad-bodied dragonflies that perch on twigs and stems; many have boldly patterned wings
• Darners — large, strong-flying dragonflies, often blue-and-green, that cruise tirelessly and rarely land
• Meadowhawks — small red or amber dragonflies that become especially common in late summer and fall
• Bluets and other pond damsels — slender damselflies in electric blue and black, hovering low over the water

Getting Down to the Exact Species

Sorting dragonfly from damselfly is easy; naming the exact species is where it gets genuinely tricky, because color, wing pattern, and the fine markings on the abdomen all matter, and some look-alikes differ only in subtle details. That is where a photo helps most. Snap the one perched at your pond and Spotter will identify it — telling you not just dragonfly or damselfly, but which kind is patrolling your patch of water.