After doing butterflies for a while, I discovered that I had begun taking pictures of dragonflies when nothing else was around. You may remember from highschool biology that dragonflies belong to the order of Odonata. So do damsel flies (which fold their wings). The latter are not included here. The suborder Anisoptera is specific to dragonflies.
They are presented by their Family and then by Genus and Species within that.
There are now four families represented, but only fifteen of these forty-four dragonflies appear on the checklist from Odonata Central for Houston County, which has thirty nine species listed.
The older USGS checklist is no longer available.
Odonata Central Check List, Houston County, TexasThe most recent was a Common Sanddragon The entries of those not on the Odonata Central list are followed by an asterisk.
In identifying dragonflies, I have usedJohn C. Abbott. 2005. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Sidney W. Dunkle. 2000. Dragonflies through Binoculars. New York: Oxford University Press.
Dennis Paulson. 2009. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West. Princeton: Princeton University Press.