Illinois Insect – Dragonfly

This dragonfly (commonly called a twelve-spotted skimmer – Libellula pulchella) was photographed by Gordon Adams (a member of our group). The immature stages of dragonflies (and related damselflies) are aquatic and breath by means of gills. The young feed on a...

Illinois Insect – Scorpionfly

Scorpionflies are so named because the terminal segments of certain males resemble the sting of a scorpion (a female of the family Panorpidae is shown here). These insects belong to the order Mecoptera. These insects feed principlayy on dead insects. This female was...