Recent rains and clouds have been good to our plants, and the mosquitos are loving the moisture. First come mosquitos, then come dragonflies that feast on those annoying insects. As dragonflies soar silently over our gardens and lawns, they are a welcome sight.
Texas is home to 160 of the 327 dragonfly species found in North America. Sometimes called damselflies, they are not the same insect, but are related. They are members of the insect order Odonata from the Greek odonto, which means tooth. The dragonfly is classified as an aquatic insect. They can live in the larval stage for years, emerging when conditions support them.
From a distance they appear dark in color but up close they are brightly colored. Their gossamer wings reflect the sun’s rays as they glide a few feet above the plants at dusk.
Dragonflies are remarkably agile insects. Four wings move independently of each other and can in an instant outmaneuver prey by moving forward, sideways or backward or hovering like a helicopter. They can fly up to 20 miles per hour as they dart back and forth up and down in their hunt.
Compound eyes of dragonflies are enormous—the largest eyes in the insect world. Each eye has 30,000 ommatidia, facets, that allow them a 360-degree stereovision view. The only blind spot is directly behind them.
Dragonflies have typical insect segmentation with a head, thorax and abdomen. Three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings are attached to the thorax. Wings are net-veined and attached at right angles to the body, which allows their exceptional agility.
Males are territorial and seem to be constantly seeking females with which to mate. Males have “claspers” on their abdomen, used to clasp onto a female’s neck. It is quite a sight to see two dragonflies flying around in tandem, male on top of the female, as they prepare for mating. When the female is ready her body curls forward into the wheel position.
Eggs of the female are laid near moisture, which is why they are grouped with the aquatic insects. Eggs take weeks to hatch but larval stages can exist for years. More complete information on the dragonfly can be found on the website odonatacentral. org.
In addition to the hundreds of mosquitos eaten in a day, dragonflies also prey on flies and gnats.
Some information from texasgardener.com
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