Dragonfly: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Dragonflies
An image of a blue dragonfly, one set of wings lowered. larger view. alternate image
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Hexapoda Order: Odonata Suborder: Anisoptera
Families
Aeshnidae Austropetaliidae Cordulegastridae Corduliidae Gomphidae Libellulidae Neopetaliidae Petaluridae

The dragonfly (suborder Anisoptera) is an insect of the order Odonata, with large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of long transparent wings, and a long body. Dragonflies have very good eye sight due to their unique eye structure. Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, midges and other small insects like flies, bees, and butterflies. They are usually found around ponds, small streams, and swamps. Another name for them is mosquito hawks.

Dragonflies do not bite or sting humans.[1]

The life cycle of the dragonfly, from egg to death of adult, is from six months to as much as six or seven years. Sometimes female dragonflies lay eggs in the small cleft between mud or moss. Most of their life time is spent in the larval (nymph) form, beneath the water surface, using their gills to breathe, catching other invertebrates, such as tadpoles, or even tiny fish. In the adult (flying) stage larger species of dragonfly can live as long as four months. Dragonflies have about 30,000 facets to their eyes, giving them nearly a 360° field of vision.

In the past some much larger dragonfly species existed. The largest found was an extinct Protodonata from the Permian period with a wingspan of 70–75 cm (27.5–29.5 in). This compares to 19 cm (7.5 in) for the largest modern species of odonate, the Central American giant damselfly Megaloprepus coerulatus. The smallest modern species recorded is the libellulid dragonfly Nannophya pygmaea from east Asia with a wing span of only 20 mm, or about 3/4 of an inch.

Common Green Darner (Anax junius)

The Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius) is nicknamed "Darning Needle" because of its body shape. It is one of the biggest and fastest-flying dragonflies. It can reach a blazing speed of 53 miles (85 km) per hour.

Damselflies are often confused with dragonflies, but the two insects are distinct: damselflies at rest hold their wings vertically above the body, whereas dragonflies at rest hold them horizontally. Also, the eyes on a damselfly are farther apart than the eyes on a dragonfly. Both are members of Odonata, and their life cycles are similar.

Some species:

• Emperor Dragonfly, Anax imperator
• Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum
• Common Whitetail, Libellula lydia

Footnotes

1. Notable physicist Richard Feynman chased dragonflies around a pool once to prove to his friends that, while dragonflies evoke a particular kind of terror in some humans, they are in fact completely harmless.

Silsby, Jill. 2001. Dragonflies of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. ISBN 1560989599