Dragonflies
Dragonflies and their close relatives, damselflies, are sensitive to their environment. Since they depend upon clean, fresh water during their early life stages, their presence or absence is an important indicator of water quality
Where Do Dragonflies Live?
Dragonflies live on every continent except Antarctica. They can be found wherever there’s clean, fresh water, including ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands.
Why Do We Only See Dragonflies in the Summer?
Dragonflies may only buzz around in the summer in most parts of the U.S., but they are busy year round. Dragonflies lay their eggs in the water and spend most of their life cycle as “naiads” under water before developing wings and emerging as adults.
What Do Dragonflies Eat?
Dragonflies are fantastic predators. When young, they hunt in the water, consuming insects, tiny fish, tadpoles, and aquatic worms. As adults, they prey on other flying insects. An adult dragonfly can catch more than 30 mosquitoes a day—something we can all be grateful for!
Dragonflies have been around for 300 million years—predating even the dinosaurs. Some prehistoric dragonflies had a wingspan of more than two feet. Today, there are more than 5,000 known species of dragonflies and damselflies.
Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) emerging from larval shell.
Photograph by L.B. Tettenborn / CC BY-SA 3.0