What are some fun facts about dragonflies?

How old is the dragonfly?

A Brief Introduction to Dragonflies

Dragonflies or "odonates,” are among the most ancient insects and were some of the first winged insects to evolve, about 300 million years ago.

Do dragonflies have teeth?

Dragonflies are in the Order Odonata. Odon is the Greek word for tooth. Dragonflies don't have true teeth but they do have extremely large, strong mandibles with sharply-pointed tooth-like serrations.

What makes a dragonfly interesting?

Fun Dragonfly Facts

Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects – flying up to 40 mph. They can fly in any direction including backwards. Dragonflies fly left, right, up and down. They sometimes even fly upside down, but only when they need to catch an agile prey.

Do dragonflies have hearts?

During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male's secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming the "heart" or "wheel" posture.

Dragonfly Facts for Kids | Learn About One of the Most Fascinating Insects

How many eyes do dragonflies have?

Dragonflies, however, were found to possess no less than 11 types of opsins, allowing them to see even ultraviolet and polarized light. They also have three small eyes called ocelli that can detect movement faster than their compound eyes.

Can dragonflies swim?

They suck water up into their abdomens to breath. A nymph will also squirt out the water to propel themselves forward — what a cool escape maneuver! This is called jet propulsion. Check out dragonfly nymphs and their cool moves.

How fast do dragonflies fly?

To compensate for this shortcoming, dragonflies are among the fastest flying insects in the world with a top recorded speed of about 35 miles per hour.

Do dragonflies glow?

Dragonflies often emerge from their larval exoskeletons after dark, so nocturnal activity among teneral dragonflies might be expected. There are some instances of teneral dragonflies coming to lights during their maiden flights (Corbet 1999).

Do dragonflies have tongues?

They have a unique hinged lower mouthpart that shoots out (like lazy-tongues) to capture prey. They eat all kinds of pond creatures, including fly larvae, mosquitos, small fish, tadpoles, even larvae of other dragonflies.

Do dragonflies sleep?

Dragonflies do not sleep in the same way that humans do, instead, they enter a state of torpor, where their temperature lowers and they become less responsive. They do, however, require this 'sleep' in order to function well.

Do dragonflies poop?

? Dragonflies do of course poo – just as any other living thing needs to expel waste. You don't see it happen very often but 'Dragonfly MCR' managed to capture this great photo of an epic Dragonfly poo last summer!

Do dragonflies drink water?

Do dragonflies drink water? Many insects get most of the water they need from the food they eat,. However some will also drink when required. Dragonflies can drink from rain droplets on leaves or directly from waterbodies.

How did dragonflies get their name?

Saint George's horse became a giant flying insect when cursed by the devil. In the Romanian language, the word for dragonfly translates into Devil's Horse or Devil's fly. The Romanian word for devil is drac, which can also indicate dragon. In English, it translated to dragonfly.

Can dragonflies walk?

Dragonflies are full of surprises. They have six legs, but most can't walk. Their giant, 30,000-lens eyes can detect ultraviolet light.

Do dragonflies have legs?

Dragonflies. Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) have the basic insect body parts which consist of a hard exoskeleton. Fashioned into a head, a thorax, abdomen, six legs, and four wings. Dragonflies are large, heavy-bodies, usually larger than damselflies.

Can dragonflies hear?

Their other senses get short shrift. Dragonflies can't really hear, and with their stubby little antennas they're not much for smelling or pheromonal flirtations. For neuroscientists, the dragonfly's large head capsule, eyes and brain cells hold particular appeal.

Can dragonflies bite?

Keep in mind, though, that dragonflies don't have a stinger, so they won't sting you. They do, however, have teeth. So a bite is possible. Dragonflies aren't an aggressive insect, but they can bite out of self-defense when they feel threatened.

Can dragonfly fly high?

They are the strongest flyers in the insect world. Compared to most other insects, dragonflies can fly further and higher than other insects.

How much can a dragonfly lift?

According to National Wildlife, scientists have called dragonflies “aerodynamic miracles” because they can easily carry 2 to 21/2 times their weight aloft. In other words, dragonflies can lift three times more than the most efficient human-made flying machine!

How many wings does a dragonfly have?

Both pairs are membranous, clear and similar in length. In dragonflies the hindwing is generally wider. Both pairs have numerous cross-veins forming many cells.At rest dragonflies hold their wings outstretched with all four wings visible.

What do we call a baby dragonfly?

Young dragonflies, called larvae or sometimes nymphs or naiads, are aquatic and are as dedicated predators under water as the adults are in the air.

Do dragonflies lay eggs?

Dragonfly larvae require water to survive, so female adults are always searching for water habitats such as ponds, streams and swamps to lay their eggs. The eggs are laid directly into or close to water. Once hatched, the larvae adopt an aquatic lifestyle very different from their parents.

Do dragonflies only live for 24 hours?

Is it true that they only live for one day? At the shortest, a dragonfly's natural life-cycle from egg to death of adult is about 6 months. Some of the larger dragonflies take 6 or 7 years! Most of this time is spent in the larval form, beneath the water surface, catching other invertebrates.