Dragonflies are giant insects that can fly. They have four strong transparent wings and a long body. Dragonflies are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands. They are predators which eat mosquitoes and other small insects such as flies, bees, ants, and butterflies. Their larvae, known as ‘nymphs,’ are aquatic. The head contains large eyes and also contains thousands of separate eyes. So here are 25 interesting facts about dragonflies.
- In general, dragonflies do not sting or bite people.
- They were one of the first insects to have evolved on the planet earth to have wings.
- The dragonfly is the same for over 300 million years. The only difference was in ancient times; they had a wingspan of around 2.5 ft.
- A dragonfly has a lifespan of four to seven weeks.
- Dragonfly eats hundreds of mosquitoes and their larvae a day which makes them a natural mosquito controller.
- Dragonfly can see an insect from 33 feet away.
- A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.
- There are over 3000 species of dragonflies worldwide; most of them are from the tropical region, and some are from temperate areas.
- In Indonesia, people like to eat dragonflies as a snack.
- A Group of dragonflies is known as swarms.
- Its believed in many parts of the world that if a dragonfly sits on your head, it’s a sign of good luck.
- Dragonfly predators are mainly fishes, water beetles, ducks, and birds.
- Before taking off, they warm up when the sun rises and keep on flying mostly all day long.
- They have two sets of wings(4 wings in total) that can operate independently.
- They are such adept hunters that they have a success rate of 95% for their prey.
- They have excellent vision because of their compound eyes and can also see in ultraviolet lights.
- They have over 30000 lenses in their eyes which also gives them 360-degree vision.
- They are excellent fliers as they can fly in all directions just like a helicopter and can even mate in mid-air.
- They can fly at speeds of 36 to 54 kph(23 to 34 mph), which is pretty much impressive for a tiny insect.
- Some dragonflies have a life span of over six months, whereas some die within 24 hours of birth.
- They have six legs like many insects, but they can not walk with them.
- Dragonfly beats its feather about 300 times per second to be in the air.
- The largest dragonfly on earth is Megaloprepus caerulatus, having a size of body length of over 12 cm (4.7 inches)and 19cm (7.5 inches) across the wings.
- Some dragonflies can stay in larvae state for up to 6 years depending on the conditions like altitude and place.
- The globe skimmer dragonfly migrates through the oceans and cover-up 4400 miles through the air without landing.
