Apr 01, 2008
(Vol. 28, No. 7)
Odonata Central
Summer is fast approaching and with it comes an armada of insects. Aside from butterflies and fireflies, few insects cause people to wax poetic, but notable exceptions are the dragonflies. These amazing and beautiful fliers of summer are celebrated in a wonderfully organized and beautifully photographed collection of information organized into a database known as Odonata Central. Sponsored by the Texas Natural Science Center at the University of Texas at Austin, Odonata Central provides visitors with easy access to a mountain of nicely organized information. User options include Checklists (summaries of by geographic location), Maps, Photos/ID, Records (database info), Resources, Publications, and Societies. The last item is slightly misnamed, as it only refers to the Dragonfly Society of America. The materials available to non-registered browsers like me are awesome, particularly the pictures. Registration presumably gets you more, presumably, including the ability to submit information. I liked everything I saw at this excellent site, but I do have one question – why do the names of desirable insects all seem to end in ‘flies’?
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*The opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as reflecting the viewpoints of the publisher, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., the publishing house, or employees and affiliates thereof.