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Alex C.

Another damselfly question

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Can someone tell me how many abdominal segments a damselfly has? Looking at pictures it's tough to tell with the wingcase covering up some of them.

 

Thanks

Alex

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OLB-

 

It is my belief that both larval and adult damselfies have 10 abdominal segments, which are numbered (front to back) 1-10, or (perhaps more properly) I, II, III, IV, ... X.

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Actually, the adult odonate has 11 abdominals segments. Segments 1-10 are visible as segments, with side pleural membranes where the spiracles are located, and an 11th segment variously modified into an epiproct, a pair of paraprocts, and cerci. The groundplan for most insects is for 11 or even 12 (e.g., Protura) segments. This can be observed early on in embryogenesis, but the segments are often modified, reduced, or changed with an organism's developmental ontogeny.

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Thanks Ethan. Was hoping you'd bail me out if the information wasn't accurate. The only references to number of damselfly abdominal segments I was able to find referred to 10 visible segments, but didn't provide any further explanation.

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