The Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula
Opportunist feeders, adult dragonflies and damselflies grab other smaller flying insects with their bristly legs. Damselflies and darter dragonflies wait on a perch, shooting off to seize a passing meal, whilst hawker dragonflies patrol an area looking for prey on the wing. Their ability for eating almost anything that flies and is not too big has stood them in good stead, and is reflected in the eating habits of the larvae. Detecting prey by sight, touch and vibrations, they devour everything from water fleas to each other. In turn, adult dragonflies and damselflies are eaten by birds such as flycatchers and wagtails, seized by frogs and toads, or trapped by spiders. Additionally, both they and their larvae fall prey to whirligig beetles and pond skaters or are dragged below by water boatmen and water scorpions. With up to 63 per cent of their total body weight made up of flight muscles, a streamlined shape and very large wings for their body mass, they are unmatched for speed and agility in the air. The jump jets of the animal kingdom, they can fly in any direction including backwards and sideways. Their wings are also used for signalling during courtship and territorial displays as well as absorbing heat like solar panels. From egg to adult The eggs of dragonflies and damselflies are laid on or near water. Some species insert their eggs into plant tissue whereas others simply release them onto the water surface to sink or be trapped amongst the plants. Some are eaten by fish or snails, whilst those that survive hatch into larvae (nymphs). The larvae which live amongst the roots and bottom debris take one to three years to mature depending on conditions. Larvae have powerful hinged laws which shoot out to grab their prey. Dragonflies and damselflies spend most of their lives as larvae. These aquatic precursors of the flying adults grow rapidly when there is plenty of food and it’s warm. To increase in size they periodically moult their hard skin, swelling and burs
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Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: common, damsleflies, dragonflies, egg, entomology, female, insects, laying, male, mating, odonata, odonatists, ovipositor, pair, pool, species, sphagnum
