High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies (Anisoptera/Epiprocta) and damselflies (Zygoptera). The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but the back-formation odonate is a more correct English name for the group as a whole. Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term true dragonfly, or simply Anisopteran, when referring to just the Anisoptera.