It was initiated when we found that living Odonata, particularly the dragonflies, could be scanned in high resolution and in true color via a digital flatbed scanner.
Dragonflies are difficult to photograph and are uncooperative models in the laboratory.
However, when the specimen is cooled or rendered senseless with carbon dioxide, it will hold still long enough to be arranged on a flatbed scanner and scanned in 24 bit or higher color and in 300 - 600 dpi resolution. The details may be found on the Digital Dragonfly Web Site under the section Specimen Handling. The project is divided into three web sites. The goal of this site is to present one scan of the top and one scan of the side of a male and a female of each species of dragonfly found in the central Texas area. There is no set boundary, but this area of Texas is where most of our other entomology program activities take place.