Ohio Odonata Society Dragonfly Monitoring

The Ohio Odonata Society needs you to send in photos and specimens of dragonflies and damselflies in Ohio to help advance our understanding of these beautiful creatures.

Volunteers can submit photographs documenting new county or state records of dragonflies and damselflies in Ohio. Once accepted, the photographs will be listed in the project database of nearly 28,000 specimens, published literature citations, and photos.

Many dragonfly and damselfly species simply cannot be identified without placing them under a microscope where detailed examinations can be performed. You can help by collecting and sending in your specimens. The physical collection of living insects is not for everyone, but it is a viable and biologically sound practice if done according to sound scientific principles. Furthermore, some species are very, very, hard to confidently identify from a photo and thus require microscopic examinations. Finally, genetic review in some cases is teaching us that some species are actually two different species!

This is your chance to help promote knowledge and appreciation of dragonflies and damselflies in Ohio!