Since its first publication in 1955, this classic work has become the benchmark reference for the identification of dragonflies (Anisoptera) in North America. After the revised edition came out in 2000, a need arose for an updated edition, with new species and new records added to the fauna up to 2012, revised taxonomy, and revised keys, resulting in the present third edition.
All species known to occur in the United States and Canada, plus the Greater Antilles and the northern states of Mexico bordering the United States, are included, for a total of 365 species, 15 more than the previous edition. The text has been updated to include species discovered over the last 12 years, with these species accounts added, as well as revised and corrected adult and larval keys. Thus, the work encompasses all of the larger Odonata species likely to be encountered in North America north of Mexico.
The core of Dragonflies of North America is a series of carefully researched identification keys, each of which is extensively illustrated with drawings and light micrographs. These are supplemented with detailed notes for adults and larvae of all species. The companion book, Damselflies of North America (1996; revised 2006), treats all the smaller species, the damselflies (Zygoptera). Color images are depicted in the Supplement, 3558B, (2007).
The keys have been rewritten to incorporate species added to the fauna since 2000, as well as added larval discoveries. The most current distribution records are noted, along with the flight dates for each species (including a new phenological table). Many new line drawings and halftones are included for a total of 650 text figures, many of which have multiple images on one numbered figure (thus, several thousand actual figures). Dragonflies of North America for North America, south to northern Mexico and the northern Caribbean, will allow users to identify these important aquatic insects, both the adults and known immature stages.