THE DRAGONFLY
By Terri Estes
It is mosquito season again, and I HATE mosquitoes. Probably because they LOVE me. This is one of the many reasons that I LOVE dragonflies.
There are over 3,000 different kinds of dragonflies and they are found on every continent except Antarctica. They are phenomenal fliers and voracious eaters. And guess what they love to dine on? Yup, you guessed it — mosquitoes! Dragonflies can eat over 100 mosquitoes a day.
Dragonflies are found near water. Any kind of fresh body of water, they are not picky. Marshes, lakes, ponds, puddles, it doesn’t matter. That is where they will lay their eggs. And this brings us to the real magic of dragonflies. Once the eggs hatch and molt into larva, they become aquatic and start hunting, and guess what they hunt. Yup, you guessed it — mosquito larva! Actually, as the larva grows, it will eat any living thing smaller than itself including beetle larva, small fish and some crustaceans. Most dragonfly species mature into adulthood in one to three years, but some species of dragonflies can live in the water as a nymph for more than five years!
Dragonflies are some of the world’s most accurate hunters. When you think of a lion, they might catch their prey two out of every 10 times. A dragonfly catches their prey nine out of 10 times. This is thanks to their large eyes that allow them to see almost 360 degrees around them. They are amazing and fast flyers. Their muscles are attached directly to their wings which allows them to fly faster than other insects. They can fly forward, backward and upside-down. They can also hover and pivot in place. Those darn mosquitoes don’t stand a chance!
Dragonflies do not sting and are completely harmless to humans. While they have strong mandibles for catching and consuming prey, they do not have stingers like bees or wasps. Therefore, you can observe them up close and admire their agility in flight as they seem to bounce on air and dart back and forth in our yards. So, please, leave the poor dragonflies alone. They are on our side in the fight against my number one enemy: the dreaded mosquito.
