Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
With funding from the National Science Foundation, BYU biologists and a team of global collaborators have set out to create a phylogenic tree of more than 6,000 dragonfly species to discover clues on evolution and conservation of one of the world's most ancient fliers.
This family tree of dragonflies and damselflies will enable scientists to study how different species evolved over time through changes in characteristics like vision and flight, which may in turn illuminate how other animals speciate, according to the project principal investigator Seth Bybee, a BYU biology professor. "They're some of the first insects to be involved in the evolution of flight and they're a pretty pivotal insect group in insect evolution overall."
Besides traveling to collect specimens of known dragonfly species—and discovering a few new species along the way—the team receives contributions from over 80 international collaborators, ranging from fellow scientists to amateur dragonfly enthusiasts.
“We get all sorts of strange packages from all over the world with really funky dragonflies that I’ve never personally seen alive,” said Bybee “For a scientist, that’s Christmas: opening up a box of specimens you’ve never seen before.”
In evolutionary biology, dragonflies are particularly rewarding to study because their earliest ancestors—which were roughly the size of a hawk—predate dinosaurs by more than 100 million years. “Dragonflies are survivors,” Bybee noted. “There have been massive extinction events, but dragonflies have always come through. And what we’re left with today is an organism that's extremely adapted to the world around it.”
The phylogenic tree will also improve dragonfly conservation efforts, which is critical because of dragonflies’ interconnectedness in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including their role in controlling pests like mosquitoes, Bybee explained.
“Having so much data in one place—and there’s nothing like this for an insect group currently—will allow us to look at all the dragonfly species in the world and figure out which lineages are extremely unique that we just can’t afford to lose,” he said.
The scientists determine where to place each dragonfly on the tree in part by observing its physical characteristics, such as its wings. They additionally study DNA extracted from living specimens and infer genealogical patterns from older dragonflies compressed in rock fossils or preserved in amber. Bybee and his team have already published some of their findings in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
The team is also taking a number of steps to share their knowledge of dragonflies with the public, including coordinating a dragonfly display with the Bean Museum and creating a website (geode-dragonfly.net) where individuals can search for information gathered about dragonflies.
Both the novelty and the usefulness of the work has been thrilling for the scientists.
“You kind of feel like one of your biology heroes,” said Natalie Saxton, a recent BYU biology graduate, “going out into the wilderness at the edge of the world to find new species.”
“We’re looking at something that you see every day and saying, guess what, there’s millions and millions of years of evolutionary history here,” added molecular biology undergraduate Alyssa Pike, who studies the dragonflies’ color patterns. “It’s a joy to be a part of.”
With funding from the National Science Foundation, BYU biologists and a team of global collaborators have set out to create a phylogenic tree of more than 6,000 dragonfly species to discover clues on evolution and conservation of one of the world's most ancient fliers.
This family tree of dragonflies and damselflies will enable scientists to study how different species evolved over time through changes in characteristics like vision and flight, which may in turn illuminate how other animals speciate, according to the project principal investigator Seth Bybee, a BYU biology professor. "They're some of the first insects to be involved in the evolution of flight and they're a pretty pivotal insect group in insect evolution overall."
Besides traveling to collect specimens of known dragonfly species—and discovering a few new species along the way—the team receives contributions from over 80 international collaborators, ranging from fellow scientists to amateur dragonfly enthusiasts.
“We get all sorts of strange packages from all over the world with really funky dragonflies that I’ve never personally seen alive,” said Bybee “For a scientist, that’s Christmas: opening up a box of specimens you’ve never seen before.”
In evolutionary biology, dragonflies are particularly rewarding to study because their earliest ancestors—which were roughly the size of a hawk—predate dinosaurs by more than 100 million years. “Dragonflies are survivors,” Bybee noted. “There have been massive extinction events, but dragonflies have always come through. And what we’re left with today is an organism that's extremely adapted to the world around it.”
The phylogenic tree will also improve dragonfly conservation efforts, which is critical because of dragonflies’ interconnectedness in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including their role in controlling pests like mosquitoes, Bybee explained.
“Having so much data in one place—and there’s nothing like this for an insect group currently—will allow us to look at all the dragonfly species in the world and figure out which lineages are extremely unique that we just can’t afford to lose,” he said.
The scientists determine where to place each dragonfly on the tree in part by observing its physical characteristics, such as its wings. They additionally study DNA extracted from living specimens and infer genealogical patterns from older dragonflies compressed in rock fossils or preserved in amber. Bybee and his team have already published some of their findings in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
The team is also taking a number of steps to share their knowledge of dragonflies with the public, including coordinating a dragonfly display with the Bean Museum and creating a website (geode-dragonfly.net) where individuals can search for information gathered about dragonflies.
Both the novelty and the usefulness of the work has been thrilling for the scientists.
“You kind of feel like one of your biology heroes,” said Natalie Saxton, a recent BYU biology graduate, “going out into the wilderness at the edge of the world to find new species.”
“We’re looking at something that you see every day and saying, guess what, there’s millions and millions of years of evolutionary history here,” added molecular biology undergraduate Alyssa Pike, who studies the dragonflies’ color patterns. “It’s a joy to be a part of.”
