Out
On A Limb / August 2006
Beyond Here Be Dragons!
Dragonflies are spectacular insects, both beneficial and predatory. They catch their prey on the wing and eat dozens of small insects, like mosquitoes, each day. Dragonflies form an important part of wetland wildlife and play a significant roll in its general ecology. One of the most ancient of living creatures, dragonfly fossils exist from more than 300 million years ago
With two pairs of wings, large compound eyes and long bodies, dragonflies come in many different sizes, but are usually between two to three inches in length.
They breathe through spiracles or holes in the abdomen. During their larval stage, they live in water and breathe through gills. Old or young, dragonflies are always hungry, with voracious appetites, and they feed exclusively on small animal matter.
Unlike most insects, dragonflies can flap or beat their wings independently. Bees and butterflies flap both pairs of wings in unison. Beetles only flap the hind pair. Flies only have one pair. But dragonflies can have their front wings going down while their back ones are coming up. Excellent flyers, they can fly loops, hover and fly backwards. And although they flap their wings relatively slowly, less than thirty beats per second compared to the 300 beats of a honey bee, in short bursts, some have been clocked at 36 miles per hour.
The dragonfly can’t sting like a bee; they have no stinger. However, very rarely, they bite. The bite is so tiny, most people never notice. Only on a very sensitive area, like the thin skin of an eyelid, is it apparent that a dragon’s bite is worse than its breath.
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