Dragonflies From the Arctic to the Tropics, May 20th

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Photo: Dr. Jessica Ware – by Denis Finnin

Tuesday, May 20, 2025,
7:00pm – 8:30pm

Webinar
Advance Registration Required

Event Details


Dragonflies, damselflies and their ancestors were among the first creatures to fly—before birds, bats or pterosaurs. On May 20, explore the origins of the Odonata insects with Dr. Jessica Ware, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History. Using a large genomic dataset, scientists are unlocking their evolutionary history. By studying the tree of life of Odonata, scientists are beginning to understand how flight first evolved in these enigmatic insects. Part of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s 60th anniversary webinar series.

This event will be hosted entirely online, and it will be recorded! Closed captions will be available at the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you’ll be able to watch live and receive a link to the recording a few days after the event.

Sign up on Zoom to watch live or on demand

About The Speaker: Jessica Ware

Dr. Jessica Ware is a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, where she serves as Chair of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology. Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Dictyoptera (termites, cockroaches, and mantises). Dr. Ware holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and a Ph.D. from Rutgers, New Brunswick. She was awarded a PECASE medal from the U.S. government for her work on insect evolution. Dr. Ware served on the Governing Board of the Entomological Society of America for 3 years. Dr. Ware is the past president of the Worldwide Dragonfly Association and the past president of the Entomological Society of America. She is president-elect of the Society of Systematic Biologists. Dr. Ware is co-founder of Entomologists of Color and serves on the board of Black in Natural History Museums. Photo by Denis Finnin

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