Glossary

Bromeliad – a tropical plant whose leaves collect rain water; a potential habitat for tropical damselflies.

Diapause - when an organism slows the developmental rate to almost zero in order to avoid hazards during inhospitable times.  To learn more about diapause, click here.

Instars - molts

Littoral – the area along or near the shore of a body of water, more specifically ponds, lakes, and rivers in relation to damselflies.

Macrophyte - plants that can be seen by the naked eye

Mandibles - chewing mouth parts that damselflies use to capture and ingest their prey

Naiad – the second life cycle stage, taking place of the larva and pupa stages; it is aquatic, and it does not look like the adult damselfly.

Thermoregulation – Zygoptera maintain a constant body temperature as they adapt to the environment’s temperature.  Adults exhibit behavioral regulation by sitting in available sunlight to use the heat from solar radiation.