Editing Dragonfly (section)

==Distribution and diversity==
About 3,012 species of dragonflies were known in 2010; these are classified into {{nowrap|348 genera}} in {{nowrap|11 families}}. The distribution of diversity within the biogeographical regions are summarized below (the world numbers are not ordinary totals, as overlaps in species occur).<ref name=diversity>{{cite book |title=Ecology and general biology. Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates |edition=4 |publisher=Academic Press |editor1-last=Thorp |editor1-first=James |editor2-last=Rogers |editor2-first=D. Christopher |isbn=9780123850263 |author1=Suhling, F. |author2=Sahlén, G. |author3=Gorb, S. |author4=Kalkman, V.J. |author5=Dijkstra, K-D.B. |author6=van Tol, J. |year=2015 |chapter=Order Odonata |pages= 893–932}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|- style="font-size:86%"
! Family
! [[Indomalaya]]
! [[Neotropical]]
! [[Australasia]]n
! [[Afrotropical]]
! [[Palaearctic]]
! [[Nearctic]]
! [[Oceania|Pacific]]
! World
|-
| [[Aeshnidae]]||149||129||78||44||58||40||13||456
|-
| [[Austropetaliidae]]||||7||4||||||||||11
|-
| [[Petaluridae]]||||1||6||||1||2||||10
|-
| [[Gomphidae]]||364||277||42||152||127||101||||980
|-
| [[Chlorogomphidae]]||46||||||||5||||||47
|-
| [[Cordulegastridae]]||23||1||||||18||||||46
|-
| [[Neopetaliidae]]||||1||||||||||||1
|-
| [[Corduliidae]]||23||20||33||6||18||51||12||154
|-
| [[Libellulidae]]||192||354||184||251||120||105||31||1037
|-
| [[Macromiidae]]||50||2||17||37||7||10||||125
|-
| [[Synthemistidae]]||||||37||||||||9||46
|-
| ''[[Incertae sedis]]''||37||24||21||15||2||||||99
|-
|}

[[File:PantalaFlavescensTalakaveri.jpg|thumb|upright|An aggregation of globe skimmers, ''[[Pantala flavescens]]'', during [[insect migration|migration]]]]
Dragonflies live on every continent except Antarctica. In contrast to the damselflies (Zygoptera), which tend to have restricted distributions, some genera and species are spread across continents. For example, the blue-eyed darner ''[[Rhionaeschna multicolor]]'' lives all across North America, and in Central America;<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bybee |first1=Seth |title=Featured Creatures: dragonflies and damselflies |url=http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/odonata/odonata.htm |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=26 February 2015|date=May 2012 |orig-year=August 2005}}</ref> emperors ''[[Anax (dragonfly)|Anax]]'' live throughout the Americas from as far north as Newfoundland to as far south as Bahia Blanca in Argentina,<ref name="GarrisonEllenrieder2006">{{cite book |last1=Garrison |first1=Rosser W. |last2=Ellenrieder|first2=Natalia von |last3=Louton |first3=Jerry A. |title=Dragonfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Anisoptera |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1umyOqyHz4C&pg=PA40 |date=16 August 2006 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8446-7 |page=40}}</ref> across Europe to central Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web |title=Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) |url=http://www.arkive.org/emperor-dragonfly/anax-imperator/ |publisher=Arkive.org |access-date=26 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409013006/http://www.arkive.org/emperor-dragonfly/anax-imperator/ |archive-date=2015-04-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The globe skimmer ''[[Pantala flavescens]]'' is probably the most widespread dragonfly species in the world; it is cosmopolitan, occurring on all continents in the warmer regions. Most Anisoptera species are tropical, with far fewer species in temperate regions.{{sfn|Powell|1999|page=9}}

Some dragonflies, including libellulids and aeshnids, live in desert pools, for example in the [[Mojave Desert]], where they are active in shade temperatures between {{convert|18|and|45|C|F}}; these insects were able to survive body temperatures above the thermal death point of insects of the same species in cooler places.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Polcyn|first1=D. M.|title=Thermoregulation During Summer Activity in Mojave Desert Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera)|journal=Functional Ecology|date=August 1994|volume=8|issue=4|pages=441–449|jstor=2390067|doi=10.2307/2390067|bibcode=1994FuEco...8..441P }}</ref>

Dragonflies live from sea level up to the mountains, decreasing in species diversity with altitude.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carchini |first1=G. |last2=Solimini |first2=Angelo |last3=Ruggiero |first3=A. |title=Habitat Characteristics and Odonata Diversity in Mountain Ponds of Central Italy |journal=Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |date=2005 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=573–581 |url=http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC31566 |doi=10.1002/aqc.741|bibcode=2005ACMFE..15..573C }}</ref> Their altitudinal limit is about 3700 m, represented by a species of ''Aeshna'' in the [[Pamirs]].<ref name="Mani1968">{{cite book |last=Mani |first=M.S. |title=Ecology and Biogeography of High Altitude Insects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4qSTCkniZoC&pg=PA246 |date=1968 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-90-6193-114-0 |page=246}}</ref>

Dragonflies become scarce at higher latitudes. They are not native to [[Iceland]], but individuals are occasionally swept in by strong winds, including a ''[[Hemianax ephippiger]]'' native to North Africa, and an unidentified darter species.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dragonfly Spotted In Iceland |url=http://grapevine.is/news/2011/08/26/dragonfly-spotted-in-iceland/ |publisher=Reykjavik Grapevine |access-date=15 March 2015 |date=26 August 2011}}</ref> In [[Kamchatka]], only a few species of dragonfly including the treeline emerald ''[[Somatochlora arctica]]'' and some aeshnids such as ''[[Aeshna subarctica]]'' are found, possibly because of the low temperature of the lakes there.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smetanin |first1=A. N. |title=On the Insect Fauna of the Kichiga River Basin, Northeastern Kamchatka |journal=Entomological Review |date=2013 |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=160–173 |doi=10.1134/s0013873813020048|bibcode=2013EntRv..93..160S |s2cid=32417175 }}</ref> The treeline emerald also lives in northern [[Alaska]], within the [[Arctic Circle]], making it the most northerly of all dragonflies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hudson |first1=John |last2=Armstrong |first2=Robert H. |title=Dragonflies of Alaska |date=2010 |publisher=Nature Alaska Images |isbn=978-1-57833-302-8 |pages=5, 32 |edition=Second |url=http://www.naturebob.com/sites/default/files/DragonFlyBookFINAL-3.pdf}}</ref>