The dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, which means toothed ones referring to the notably serrated mandibles that crush prey. It generally has large multifaceted eyes and two pairs of strong, transparent wings attached to its elongated body. The dragonfly are similar to damselflies except dragonfly adults hold their wings away from, and perpendicular to the body when at rest. It has huge eyes taking up most of its head. In fact, it can see you as it is flying toward you and can still see you as it is flying away from you. Crazy!
A dragonfly typically eats mosquitoes and other small insects which is why they are often living around lakes, rivers, swamps and marshes. Good eating of harmful insects can be found there for them. Oh yeah, and their larvae, known as “nymphs”, are aquatic so being around water is a must really. Don’t worry. You are safe around the dragonfly. They do not eat bite humans. There are only about 7,000 species of dragonfly worldwide, compared to hundreds of thousands of beetle and butterfly species.
The dragonfly has six legs like any other insect but most of them, like baby giraffes, cannot walk well. (Wait a minute, spiders have eight legs and are they not insects?)
The dragonfly, like the hummingbird, is a pretty good flyer. A large dragonfly, like the hawkers group, have a maximum airspeed of 22–34 mph with average cruising speed of about 10 mph. Not too shabby. Plus the dragonfly can fly in six directions; upward, downward, forward, back, and side to side. Again, not bad. The adult stage of larger species of dragonfly can last as long as five or six months. That part is a bummer.
It is reported that like the praying mantis, the dragonfly is a highly effective killing machine with a kill rate of over 95% which is the highest of all animals including the shark and lion. In fact, sometimes the dragonfly will catch its meal and feast in flight. Now that is what I call fast food. But when you are only living six months, who has time to relax really? Unlike other predators such as the lion, the dragonfly likes to ambush its prey. The dragonfly comes from behind and below, and the prey has no clue until it is too late. Like the honey badger, the dragonfly don’t give a… (“Oh wash your mouth” like Grand Pappy used to say.)
Still, I believe the dragonfly is a beautiful critter and always makes me smile on the rare occasion I get to see one.
Do you have dragonflies where you live?