9 Fun Facts About Dragonflies
Dragonflies are one of the oldest insects that inhabit the Earth, since they have existed for more than 320 million years. Their large transparent wings are their means of transportation and they cannot fold them over the abdomen. Do you want to know more curious facts about dragonflies?
For example, it should be noted that the young or nymphs of these invertebrates develop in water, so their habitat is always near rivers or swamps. In addition, they are deadly insect hunters. Next, we tell you 6 more curious facts about these fascinating winged animals.
1. Excellent vision
The sense of sight in dragonflies ( Anisoptera ) is quite advanced compared to other insects. Their eyes are made up of more than 30,000 tiny hexagonal facets – known as ommatidia – that give this invertebrate a 360-degree view.
2. High precision flyers
Unlike other species such as flies, hummingbirds or mosquitoes, dragonflies can move their 4 wings 30 times per minute and stay perfectly suspended in the air. The common dragonfly ( A nax junius ), is one of the fastest insects in the world, as it manages to reach a speed of 85 kilometers per hour.
3. Illusionists to hunt
Another curious fact about dragonflies is that they are masters of deception when it comes to hunting. They can reflect back to themselves as a static object and quickly catch their prey when unprepared. It is a very complex camouflage technique that few species use and shows their quick reaction when hunting their prey.
4. Potential migrants
Some species of dragonflies of the genera Libellula, Sympetrum and Pantala are part of the insects that carry out one of the largest migrations in the world. Some of the specimens run transoceanic group tours of more than 17,000 kilometers to reproduce or simply as an innate behavior in the species.
5. Colors and physiology
These insects are also distinguished by the different colors that cover their body. Your body plan is divided into 3 important parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. 6 legs emerge from the thoracic area.
Dragonflies cannot easily walk on their limbs, but they use them to catch prey or hold on in windy conditions. The most common colorations include a green or red chest and a bluish or yellow abdomen.
Another curious fact about dragonflies is that they breathe through their anus. The nymphs in this group expel a small amount of water through their anus, which helps them move quickly through the water and escape possible predators.
6. Aerial foods
If dragonflies couldn’t fly, they would easily starve. Their diet is based on flies, moths, butterflies, and mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti , a carrier of the dengue virus. Its mouth is adapted to bite: thanks to a prehensile characteristic, the dragonfly is able to extend its mouth forward at great speed, to capture its prey.
7. Living fossils
There is scientific evidence that dragonflies inhabited the earth long before dinosaurs appeared. In the Carboniferous era, these insects soared through the air, about 300 million years ago. Physically, its ancestor does not have many differences with the current dragonfly, apart from the 720 millimeters that it measured from end to end.
8. Suspended copulation
For a couple of seconds or minutes, dragonflies can reproduce while hovering in the air. The male performs different movements to woo the female and later cling to her, through special clamps on her abdomen. At this time, the female arches her abdomen to fertilize herself and deposit the eggs in the water.
9. Ecological indicators
The presence of dragonflies in certain areas with abundant water should not be taken as an indication of contamination. Quite the contrary, since these flying insects prefer waters with a variety of microhabitats.
In these ecosystems, dragonflies find the solution to their basic needs, although most of them are very sensitive to changes in pH or water temperature. For this reason, these invertebrates are clear bioindicators of the health of the environment.
As you appreciated, dragonflies are very common insects, but with some unique peculiarities that differentiate them from other groups of invertebrates. We have presented some of its characteristics, but there are many more.
Its power of flight, its role as an eradication agent of pests and its beautiful colors are some of the curious facts about dragonflies that you may not have known and for which they should be valued, since they do not represent any danger to man.
