Dragonflies and damselflies depend on clean, well-vegetated freshwater habitats. Their welfare as potentially sentient invertebrates is increasingly discussed in conservation ethics.
Whether dragonflies and damselflies experience welfare-relevant states is an open scientific question. Their nervous systems are complex for insects, and they show sophisticated predatory behaviour and threat responses. Conservation of their aquatic larval habitat - clean, well-oxygenated water with diverse vegetation - supports populations of many thousands of individuals. Habitat degradation through agricultural runoff or pollution may cause population-scale suffering if these animals have any capacity for negative experience.