Dragonflies and damselfly are predator insects, which spend the longest period of their lives as larvae, i.e. naidae in water.

The grown up imagoes are very good fliers, they have two pairs of transparent and elongated, equal or wings of different length with a complex net of intertwined tendons and visible cuticular swellings called pterostigmas. Their eyes are very big and spherical.

They are most often of very bright metal-shining colours.

We can often see them flying above all the watercourses, ponds, marshes, fresh and brackish waters. As they are good fliers they can also be seen far away from water.

The life cycle of dragonflies is incomplete. We distinguish the following stages: the grown-up specimen with wings, an egg and a larva. There is no cocoon stage.

They are connected with water throughout their development. The males occupy and defend their hunting territory above water against other dragonflies and allow access only to the females of their species. Their mating is unique in the world of insects as they mate in the air. A male catches a female for the upper part of chests or head and a female bends her abdomen up to the second abdominal extension of a male that carries the secondary genital opening. Being joined in such a way they make the so-called copulation ring. After the insemination the females of some species lay eggs accompanied by males or they do it alone.

Dragonfly and damselfly females lay the inseminated eggs directly into water or humid soil, or on parts of plants that are under water, on the water or in its vicinity. The larvae, which are the predators, come out of the inseminated eggs and they shed several times. The period spent in the larvae stage is different and it can range from a month or two to several years, depending on species. The last shedding happens out of the water. The insect with wings comes out of the larvae skin.

The grown-up insects live for several weeks. After mating and egg laying the winged insects die and only representatives of one of our species survive winter as grownup insects. The first occurrence of the winged insects happens during spring and the last disappearing during late autumn, which depends on weather conditions. It can be moved for several weeks ahead or back. The winged forms of some species appear in the early spring, some during summer and some during the late autumn.

The winged insects are also predators. They eat other insects and smaller and weaker specimens of their own order. This phenomenon is called cannibalism. They are exceptional fliers and they hunt, eat, mate, lay eggs and die in the air.

Based on morphological and anatomical properties, the Odonata order in Serbia can be divided into two sub-orders: equal-wing species or Zygoptera Selys and species with different wings or Anisoptera Selys.

The number of Odonata species in the world is estimated to more than 5 000 and 4 875 species have been described until now. In the territory of Serbia 61 species have been described and 51 species of such insects have been described in Vojvodina.

They are very important as indicators of unpolluted natural habitats and as predators of larvae and grown-up mosquitoes.