The life-expectancy of adults is short, typically no more than a week or two, but sometimes they can last 6–8 weeks. Adult dragonflies have voracious appetites, and can be observed hunting other flying insects, particularly small flies, on sunny days.
Do Dragonflies Bite or Sting? No, although large dragonflies, if held in the hand, will sometimes try to bite they fail to break the skin. They have a lot of “folk names” which imply that they do, such as “Horse-stinger”, but they don't use their egg-laying tube (ovipositor) for stinging.
Underwater, aquatic plants, grasses and roots provide excellent cover to sleep among. On the land, dragonflies will sleep tucked away in bushes or under leaves, or sometimes more out in plain sight, if they feel sufficiently camouflaged. Dragonflies do sleep. Dragonflies also don't carry diseases or germs!
The colour of adult dragonflies changes with age. Tenerals (newly emerged adults) can appear very pale and may not have their mature colouration yet. You may have to look closely for any emerging markings or patterns to help identify it. Similarly very mature adults can appear much darker.
It's possible, though perhaps unlikely, that these people themselves are giving off some sort of unusual scent that the dragonflies are attracted to. Alternatively, other small insects might be attracted to these people for one reason or another and those small insects might attract the dragonflies.
Are dragonflies dangerous? Dragonflies are not harmful to people. Though they will approach humans, they do not bite or sting. Dragonflies may even be beneficial, since the diet of immature dragonflies includes nuisance pests such as mosquito larvae.
Dragonflies are insects. They have three stages in their life cycle: egg - larva - adult. Adult dragonflies have a long and slender abdomen, two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs.
Pidwerbesky explains that dragonflies and nymphs have quite different diets: Nymphs eat mainly aquatic insects, insect larvae and small crustaceans, but will also eat tadpoles and small fish. Adult dragonflies eat flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, mosquitoes — and even other dragonflies.
While they are most effective in their larval stage, adult dragonflies can still eat up to 100, if not many more, mosquitoes per day. Not only do dragonflies control mosquito populations – they help control other bugs, too, like midges.
Dragonflies are most numerous during the summer. However, certain species come out earlier; some can be seen only in the spring, their flight seasons starting in late April or early May, and finished by mid-June.
Do dragonflies drink? Adults get much of the water they need from the food they eat, but will drink from water surfaces or droplets of dew. Small nymphs feed on tiny aquatic invertebrates.
One wives' tale says that dragonflies stitch shut the mouths of naughty children in their sleep, while Welsh folklore says they follow snakes and mend their wounds.
Adult dragonflies are beneficial bugs because the eat pesty flying insects, particularly midges and mosquitoes. They also will eat butterflies, moths and smaller dragonflies. There is one Asian dragonfly that eats spiders from their webs!
However, dragonflies? No, they didn't get that memo. Walking is nearly impossible for them due to the way their legs are positioned. They seem to have been designed for skydiving rather than walking.
Ingestion Risk: Dogs that catch and eat dragonflies could experience gastrointestinal upset. Dragonflies are not toxic, but their exoskeletons are hard and indigestible, which could potentially cause mild to moderate gastrointestinal irritation or even a blockage in smaller breeds.
Dragonflies eat other insects, such as flies, midges and mosquitoes. They will also take butterflies and even smaller dragonflies. Prey is normally caught in mid-air, with the dragonfly using its long legs to catch its quarry. The food will then be carried to a perch where it is eaten.
Citrus - Citrus fruits like lemons and oranges can help deter wasps around your yard. Peppermint oil - Peppermint oil is one of the most effective essential oils for keeping wasps away. Citronella - Citronella oil is also effective, as it has a strong citrus smell that wasps do not like.
In their larval stage – which can last up to five years – they live in the water and eat anything that comes near them, including aquatic insects, tadpoles and small fish. As adults, they eat flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, butterflies, flying ants and even other dragonflies, which they catch while they're in flight.
Every few minutes, a dragonfly dives into water and takes off again, turning several forward somersaults as it ascends. The purpose of the behavior? The quick dip cools the insect down, and the loop-the-loops help it dry off by flicking away the water. Learn more during #InsectWeek: https://scim.
Odonates, a hemimetabolous order encompassing dragonflies and damselflies, have effective regeneration abilities with regard to both, legs and caudal lamellae (Maruzzo et al., 2005; Stoks and De Block, 2007).
Some dragonflies spend the winter underwater in their larval stage. Other dragonflies lay eggs that survive the winter and hatch the next spring or summer. A few species of dragonflies, like the Green Darner, migrate south for the winter and lay eggs. This next generation stays in the south for its entire life cycle.
Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Natural Intelligence. Dragonflies intercept their prey with 95% accuracy. Understanding how their brains function could be the key to building more efficient algorithms and tech.
All damselflies and hawker dragonflies have scythe-like ovipositors and inject their eggs into plant stems or leaves, rotten wood or mud on or close to the surface of the water.
