Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Fearsome Dragonfly

By Tom Berg

Dragonflies have two sets of clear wings that beat about 30 times per second.  Photo by Tom Berg

Dragonflies are carnivorous aerial predators.  They have a long body and two pairs of clear wings.  Their head is dominated by two large, multifaceted eyes that give them superior vision.  Dragonflies are also colorful creatures, appearing in almost every color of the rainbow, with some species sporting bright, iridescent colors.  There is a vast number of dragonfly species in the United States, and there are more than 3,000 species worldwide.

Dragonflies are incredibly nimble and fast.  Some species can fly over 30 mph, and they can migrate for long distances, just like birds.  Dragonflies can also fly in any direction, and often change direction almost instantly. They can even fly backwards!  Their awesome flying skills come in very handy when it comes time for them to hunt for food.

Adult dragonflies hunt for insects on the wing, and they are extremely adept at catching small bugs in mid-air.  They catch everything from mosquitoes and flying ants to moths and flying beetles.  Dragonflies quickly kill and eat most of their prey in mid-air; larger insects are killed and carried to a nearby branch to be consumed.  Their aerial antics burn a lot of energy, so they often eat as much as 20% of their body weight every day.

Surprisingly, dragonflies spend most of their lives under water (years for some species), living as nymphs on the bottom of ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers.  They eat mosquito larvae and other aquatic insects underwater, but they also catch and eat larger prey like small tadpoles and even tiny newly-hatched fish.  When the time is right, they emerge from the water as a winged adult and fly away.

Dragonflies have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, but we should be glad the species from prehistoric times are extinct.  Fossils from 325 million years ago have shown that some ancient dragonflies had wingspans of 30 inches!  Those dragonflies would be fierce predators, indeed!

Tom Berg is an award-winning writer and photographer and has been a freelance writer since 1993. He is also the Executive Director of the Hoosier Outdoor Writers organization in Indiana and is a member of several other writers groups.