Damselflies

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Scientific Name

Match	Scientific Name
	Odonata-Zygoptera

Damselflies mirror the closely related dragonflies (scientifically, they are different suborders of the order Odonata) in that the adults are excellent at flight and only the nymphs are likely to fall prey to trout. Their nymphs differ in the way they look, move, and respirate, but they share the same alpha predator status in the world of aquatic insects.

This common name refers to only one order.

Insect Order Odonata-Zygoptera

These are pretty much always called Damselflies.

Beautiful damselflies are a priceless part of a trout stream's aesthetics, but they matter little to our flyboxes. The adults are too good at flying to end up in the water where the trout can reach them very often, but their nymphs are welcome prey at times.

Damselflies and dragonflies are in the same order, Odonata, but they are taxonomically separated on an obscure level not built into this site, the suborder. Damselflies are in the suborder Zygoptera, the scientific name by which they're most known. None of that will help you catch trout, but it explains what the hyphen in this page's title is all about.

Biologically, damselflies are similar to dragonflies (Odonata-Anisoptera) in most of the ways that matter to the angler.

Argia Damselfly Nymph

View 3 PicturesMy friend Willy captured this early instar (Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.) damselfly nymph and brought it to me for identification. It is more robust and stocky at this early stage than the spindly appearance of the later instars (Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.), and its appearance is less familiar.

Collected August 28, 2005 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on April 14, 2006

Odonata-Zygoptera (Damselflies) Damselfly Adult

Odonata-Zygoptera (Damselflies) Insect Adult

View 8 Pictures

Collected June 30, 2019 from in
Added to Troutnut.com by on July 17, 2019

See 6 more specimens...

Jargon Defined:

Instar: Many invertebrates molt through dozens of progressively larger and better-developed stages as they grow. Each of these stages is known as an instar. Hard-bodied nymphs typically molt through more instars than soft-bodied larvae.

Nymphs: The juvenile, underwater stages of mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies and other aquatic insects whose juvenile stages are covered by hard exoskeletons. The word can also refer to the fishing flies which imitate these creatures, in which case it is used as a blanket term for flies imitating any underwater stage of an invertebrate (except for crayfish and leeches).