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DRAGONFLY TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Odonata Suborder: Anisoptera DRAGONFLY INFORMATION Large size and Fast Flying Family: Aeshnidae Number of Species: 5,000 Avg Life Span: 6 years Avg Litter Size: 60 Prey: (Carnivore) - mosquitos, fly, bees, midges Predator: birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians Habitat: (wetlands) worldwide Conservation Status: Threatened (#1) |
LIFE CYCLE: "A dragonfly undergoes incomplete metamorphosis. The larva hatches from an egg which is laid in water, in plants near water, or even underwater. As this aquatic (living in the water) larva (called a nymph) grows, it molts (loses its old skin) many times. When fully-grown, it emerges from the water, using the claws on its feet to crawl onto a plant. The dragonfly flies away over land. It only returns to the water to reproduce and continue this cycle. The life span ranges from about 6 months to over 7 years (most of it is spent in the nymph stage - the adult lives for only a few weeks)". (#3)
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"Slo-mo dragonfly nymph labium (lower lip) in action. The actual strike only takes 10 milliseconds. From Bulanbeck" (#4)
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The nympth does some pretty remarkable things. It is worth investigating even more. It is considered an ambush predator and has three amazing BUTT functions to credit its ambush and predator status. "The ability of a dragonfly nymph to successfully snatch and grab food is directly related to its anus" (#4)
1. "The mouth grabber (labium) is hydraulically activated. The dragonfly draws water in through the anus, clenches, then compresses its abdominal and thoracic muscles against the water-filled rectal chamber. This raises the internal body cavity pressure, and pushes the labium out." (#4) 2. "The other amazing function of a dragonfly nymph rectum is jet-propulsion. By un-clenching their rectum, water in the rectal chamber can be jetted out at high pressure, pushing the nymph forward through the water." 3. Lastly, "The jet-propulsion butt-hydraulic system also is a gill. Dragonflies breathe through gills in their rectums" (#4) |
MASTERS OF THE AIR AND WATER (#5)
Some species of dragonflies also migrate long distances in the adult form out flying other insects that are seen as great migrators. "The record holder is the Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), which flies from India across the ocean to East Africa. The next generation migrates back along the coast, making the wandering glider’s migration path twice that of Monarch butterflies. In North America, 16 species of dragonflies migrate. Via tiny radio transmitters attached to Green Darners, we know the average distance traveled was 58 km (about 36 miles), but some dragonflies travel up to 600 miles. Migrating fall swarms of over a million dragonflies have been recorded." (#5)
Apart from the distance they travel, their two sets of wings allow them to move in virtual every direction along with hovering. Recently, it's believed that dragonflies have the ability to predict where its prey will fly next and adjust in-flight pursuit movements towards their prey. "Leonardo says, that predictive motion is commonplace in mammals, birds and fish, but has never been seen before in insects." ( #6)
They definitely seem like masters of their domain to me!
Some species of dragonflies also migrate long distances in the adult form out flying other insects that are seen as great migrators. "The record holder is the Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), which flies from India across the ocean to East Africa. The next generation migrates back along the coast, making the wandering glider’s migration path twice that of Monarch butterflies. In North America, 16 species of dragonflies migrate. Via tiny radio transmitters attached to Green Darners, we know the average distance traveled was 58 km (about 36 miles), but some dragonflies travel up to 600 miles. Migrating fall swarms of over a million dragonflies have been recorded." (#5)
Apart from the distance they travel, their two sets of wings allow them to move in virtual every direction along with hovering. Recently, it's believed that dragonflies have the ability to predict where its prey will fly next and adjust in-flight pursuit movements towards their prey. "Leonardo says, that predictive motion is commonplace in mammals, birds and fish, but has never been seen before in insects." ( #6)
They definitely seem like masters of their domain to me!