Check out these amazing facts • the scientific name "odonata" is a remnant of a classification system developed by Johann Christian Fabricius, an 18th century entomologist • he used mouthparts rather than wing characteristics to classify dragonflies • odonata means "tooth-jawed" and refers to maxillae and labial palp (lower jaw) of the nymph • dragonflies have a top flight speed of up to 100 km/h • each dragonfly eye contains up to 30,000 lenses • the eyes' position on the dragonfly gives the insect a 360 degree field of vision • although 80% of the brain is devoted to sight dragonflies are not able to register detail well • the oldest fossilized record of a dragonfly is from the Carboniferous Period, over 300 million years ago • the Nootka word for dragonfly translates as "clacking stick," the name given to cedar tongs used to remove coals from the fire • at least 80 species of dragonflies have been recorded in British Columbia *daveingram.ca/bcdragonflies/facts.html