Clubtail Dragonfly

While camping on the Mississippi recently, this black and yellow visitor alighted on our picnic table one afternoon.  See how the tip of its abdomen is swollen?  This is an identifying feature of the Clubtail Dragonfly.

There are several kinds of Clubtail Dragonflies, but I believe this one to be a Plains Clubtail, which is the most common variety.

Check out those amazing legs, feet, and enormous eyes!  He looks like he's coming right at you!

The scientific order of insects which includes dragonflies and damselflies is called Odonata, which comes from the Greek word for tooth.  (They have teeth on their mandibles.)

The word Odonata is, of course, related to words like orthodontist, dandelion (from the French "dent-de-lion" which means lion's tooth), rodent (from the Latin, meaning "to gnaw") and even Dentyne (the brand name of a gum promoted as an aid to oral health, which combined portions of the words "dental" and "hygiene").