Macho dragonflies

(A review of the book "Dragonflies and damselflies of Texas and the South-Central United States" by John C Abbott) 

This is an extensive field guide to the odonates of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. It covers 263 species. Rather than illustrations, it features color photos of all species covered. I'm not sure if field guides with photos are better than the usual ones - I suspect they might actually be somewhat worse. But then, I don't commute to the Deep South looking for dragonflies...

Otherwise, the book contains the usual features of a field guide: checklists, keys, drawings of the appendages of similar species, etc. The species presentations include information on size, regional distribution (both the biotic province and watersheds), flight season, identification, similar species and references. The extensive list of references makes the book valuable for advanced students of entomology. Thus, it could function both as an identification guide and a reference work. There are also range maps. Both vernacular and scientific names of the various species have been included.

This is the only book on odonates I've seen which claims that dragonflies can actually hurt humans. The author claims that female dragonflies occasionally mistake the leg of a wader or river rafter for a plant when laying her eggs: "Though I have never experienced this first-hand, those that have confirm that having a dragonfly attempt to lay eggs in you is painful". Why haven't we been told this before? Are even the beautiful, sweet-looking, multi-colored dragonflies dangerous to our health?

Or are dragonflies in Texas particularly macho?

I'm not sure how to rate this book, since I haven't been anywhere near the Alamo, but I'm sure it's useful as a reference and general presentation of the species found in South-Central United States. For that reason, I give it four stars.