dragonfly

Adult dragonflies are long, comparatively slim-bodied insects with two pairs of wings. During the Upper Carboniferous period a giant, dragonflylike insect, Meganeura, had a wingspan of up to 70 cm/28 in. After mating, the female dragonfly lays her egg on a submerged plant stem, in mud, or directly into the water. The egg hatches into a nymph that takes about a year to mature; it is a voracious predator that will even attack small fishes.

The life cycle of the dragonfly. Eggs are usually laid under water and the larvae hatch as free-moving, water-dwelling nymphs. The carnivorous larva lives in the water for several weeks (or even years in some species) and undergoes a series of moults as it grows. It leaves the water when it is ready to undergo its final moult, during which it sheds its ‘skin’ to reveal the winged adult.

Any of numerous insects of the order Odonata, including the damselfly. They all have long narrow bodies, two pairs of almost equal-sized, glassy wings with a network of veins; short, bristlelike antennae; powerful, ‘toothed’ mouthparts; and very large compound eyes which may have up to 30,000 facets. They can fly at speeds of up to 64–96 kph/40–60 mph.

Dragonflies hunt other insects by sight, both as adults and as aquatic nymphs. The largest species have a wingspan of 18 cm/7 in, but fossils related to dragonflies have been found with wings of up to 70 cm/2.3 ft across.