A preliminary study of larval stage of Odonata in Fars province, description of full grown larva of genus Anax (Leach, 1815) and an identification key for the larvae

Faunal study of Odonata of Fars province began for the first time in Iran at the department of biology, Shiraz University in 2002 (1380). According to the accessible references, no study on larval stage of Odonata of Iran was found till the time of this research. A total of 332 larvae, 229 of the suborder dragonflies (Anisoptera) and 103 of he suborder damselflies (Zygoptera) were collected in a year sampling. All these collected larvae are 14 genera, 9 belong to Anisoptera and 5 to Zygoptera which identified for the first time in Iran. Description of the full-grown larva of a species from genus Anax and a provisional key to the families and the last larval instar of the known 14 genera is given.