General North American Field Guides
Dunkle, Sidney W. Dragonflies through Binoculars.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
I use this book personally --it is a must have!
It covers the 307 known North American species. It has everything you
need to know to get started learning about dragonfly biology, habitats, and
identification.
Lam, Ed. Damselflies of the Northeast. New York: Biodiversity
Books, 2004.
Although touted as a guide to the northeast,
from Canada to Virginia, this wonderfully illustrated book covers most species
found in the eastern half of North America. With extensive use of detailed
paintings and line drawings, this guide sets a new standard for field identification
of odonates. Don't leave home without it!
Website: http://homepage.mac.com/edlam/book.html
Nikula, Blair and Jackie Sones. Stoke's Beginners Guide to Dragonflies
and Damselflies. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2002.
This book discusses the 100 most common dragonflies
and damselflies of North America. The book organizes the dragonflies by
family and characteristics for quick and easy reference. Also, it is loaded
with many color pictures.
Paulson, Dennis. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West. New
Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009. New
This fairly new field guide covers some 348 species of odonates found in
western North America. It has information such as flight seasons, habitats,
odonate conservation, tips on identification, life cycle and many other bits
of general information. It's photographs are clear and stunning. This field
guide can also be used as a supplement to other field guides on odonata of
Central and South America, since Dennis has included many species native to
these areas. I highly recommend this guide to the beginner as well as
the experienced odonologist.
Regional Field Guides
Abbot, John C. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the
South-Central United States. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press, 2005.
This book sets a new standard in field guides to odonata,
especially in helping the observer sort through similar species.
Although the range maps and flight season information is specific to the
south-central part of the United States, the identification text and
illustrations cover 263 species, more than half of the species in North
America.
Website:
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7940.html
Barlow, Allen Bangma, Jim, Golden, David. Fieldguide to the
Dragonflies and Damselflies of New Jersey.
New
This book was developed by the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental
Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife. This is an excellent source for
those living in or planning on visiting New Jersey. The guide covers 182
species of New Jersey odes with detailed identification on both male and
females. It contains information on specific habitats, distribution, flight
periods and conservational status of species.
Biggs, Kathy. Common Dragonflies of California: A Beginner's
Pocket Guide. Sebastopol, CA: Azalea Creek Publishing, 2000.
Covers 77 species of dragonflies and damselflies, contains
117 color photos. Also contains description of habitat, flight patterns,
and dragonfly behavior.
Website:
http://www.sonic.net/dragonfly/azaleaforth.html
Biggs, Kathy. Common Dragonflies of the Southwest: A Beginner's
Pocket Guide. Sebastopol, CA: Azalea Creek Publishing, 2004.
Covers 129 species of dragonflies and damselflies, contains
350 color photos. Addtional black & white line drawings illustrate damselfly
appendages. Includes descriptions of males, females, habitat, flight periods
and distribution. Checklist of ALL 189 SW species included.
Website:
http://www.sonic.net/dragonfly/SWguide.html
Curry, James R. Dragonflies of Indiana. Indiana:
Indiana Academy of Science, 2001.
Containing over 250 photos, this reference guide is very
good for identification purposes. It covers the 97 species of dragonflies
found in Indiana.
Website:
http://www.franklincollege.edu/bioweb/curry/
Dunkle, Sidney W. Dragonflies of the Florida Peninsula, Bermuda,
and the Bahamas. Washington D.C. Scientific Publishers Nature
Guides, 1990.
Out of print but invaluable if you can find it, this
book is chock full of photos and has a great amount of information on characteristics
for identification.
Glotzhober, R.C. and D. McShaffrey (Editors). The Dragonflies and Damselflies
of Ohio. Ohio Biological Survey, 2002.
A comprehensive treatment of the 162
species of odonata found in Ohio. Includes keys, photographs, scans, and
line drawings. Available with either stitched or spiral binding.
Website:
http://www.marietta.edu/~odonata/book/books.html
Johnson, Ann. Dragonflies and Damselflies in Your Pocket - A Guide to
the Odonates of the Upper Midwest. (Bur Oak Guide). Iowa: University of
Iowa Press, 2009.
This well organized pocket guide represents 50 of the most stunning species
of odonates in the Upper Midwest. Included are color photographs with
emphasis on characteristics for quick and easy identification, flight
seasons, habitat and other general information. This informative pamphlet is
written using both common and scientific names making it ideal for the
beginner as well as the experienced dragonfly watcher.
Website: http://www.iowaodes.com
Legler, Karl and Dorothy Legler with Dave Westover. Dragonflies
of Wisconsin. Wisconsin: n.p., 2003.
Covers the breeding habitats, life histories, and
flight patterns of 107 dragonflies and damselflies. This guide has many
color photos and line drawings and is great for dragonfly enthusiasts in the
Upper Midwest.
Website: http://userpages.chorus.net/karlndot/
Manolis, Tim. Dragonflies and Damselflies of California. CA:
UC Press, 2004.
The first comprehensive guide to all
108 species known to California. Includes full-color plates, line drawings,
range maps and checklists.
Website:
http://www.sonic.net/dragonfly/timsbook.html
Mead, Kurt. Dragonflies of the North Woods. Minneapolis: Kollath-Stensaas
Publishers, 2003.
Covers all 102 species of dragonflies
and some common damselflies found in the North Woods of Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan and Ontario. Photos, bar charts, and concise identification information.
Website:
http://www.dragonfliesofthenorthwoods.com/
Nikula, Blair, Jennifer Loose and Matt Burne. A Field Guide to
the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts. Published by
Massachusetts Wildlife's Natural heritage and Endangered species Program. 2003.
This fairly new field guide is 200 pages with color photos of
166 species, many of which are found throughout the northeast. The guide
includes information on habitat, life history, ranges, behavior and flight periods
with emphasis on key characteristics necessary to identification.
Paulson, Dennis. Dragonflies of Washington. Seattle:
Seattle Audubon Society: 1999.
All 76 of the region's dragonflies and damselflies
are introduced in this guide. This is a great discussion of Washington
dragonflies habitat, anatomy, and an introduction to dragonflies as a species.
The photography and text are excellent and easy to follow.
Rosche, Larry, Judy Semroc and Linda Gilbert. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio,
Second Edition.
Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 2008.
This second edition is completely redesigned and
superbly illustrated. Although touted as a guide to northeastern Ohio,
it is a "must have" for odonate enthusiasts from the Appalachians
to the Mississippi.
Website:
http://www.ddneo.info/
Guides for Outside North America
Foster, Steffen. Dragonflies of Central America.
n.c: n.p., 2001.
Informative guide to Central American Dragonflies
Hamalainen, M. Atlas of the Dragonflies of Thailand.
Thailand: A. Pinratana, 1999.
Many descriptions and photographs of the species
of Dragonflies of Thailand.
Westfall, Minter J. and Michael May. Damselflies of North America.
n.c., Scientific Publishers, 1996.
This book is most useful in laboratory study as well as
in the field, and covers all 161 species of damselflies. The information in
this book is best suited to in-hand and with magnification. Knowledge of anatomy
and scientific names helpful.