![]() ![]() Now don't get any ideas that these are beautiful nymphs frolicking through the water like Greek goddesses.nope, more like Gorgons! Take a look below. Female dragonflies lay their eggs in water and then the eggs hatch into the unholy terrors of the freshwater world. You see, those adult dragonflies start out life, as all dragonflies do, living in water as aquatic wee beasties. Now here's my favorite part of answering the question, "What do dragonflies eat?" We've talked about Memaw's favorite sweater and adult dragonflies, but that's only half the story. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! BUTT BLASTERS AND PREHENSILE JAWS OH MY! Dragonflies eat while flying and hunting at high rates of speed too, which is an incredible feat. They particularly delight in mosquitoes (30-100+ per day per dragonfly!) as well as other pesky flight bugs such as flies, butterflies, bees, and even other dragonflies. ![]() The insects are then held in a basket-like device while flying. McDonaldĪll adult dragonflies are insectivores, which means they eat insects they catch with their spiney hairy legs. However, they don't want to bite humans and only do so as a last defense if captured. They most certainly can bite, as attested to a friend that once got a big dragonfly too close to her nose. Remember, dragonflies are in the order Oodonata, which means "toothed-one." This is the Greek reference to their "toothed" or serrated jaws. Their curved jaws are for piercing and holding insects while flying and also for defense. The main thing to notice is that they have jaws that work side to side and that are shaped like wicked meat hooks, mandibles (man-dibbles) that go up and down and maxillae (max-ill-eh) that act like a lower lip and hold food. I'm not going to go into the technical biological labels of upper and lower lips and seams, sutures, frons, or plates. These mouth parts are the business end of things that help address the question, "What do dragonflies eat?" You can see the big compound eyes easily, and they have two tiny antennae that look like Gomez's mustache, and then their mouth bits. If you look at the face of a dragonfly they look like a cross between an insect, Gomez Adams from Adams Family, and flying a ninja. Photo: Karen S McDonald WHAT DO ADULT DRAGONFLIES EAT AND DO THEY BITE? This wing size difference is what puts dragonflies in the infraorder Anisoptera (Greek for "unequal wing"). The back ones are broader for stability and maneuvering. These wings are held straight out, horizontally, at all times and the wings are uneven. They have a strong thorax (middle bit) that has two sets of wings attached. Adults have big compound eyes with over 29,000 lenses that can see all around their heads, which aid in hunting for insects while sitting or flying. The dragonfly that you probably think of when you're conjuring granny's sweatshirt, or your plastic hair-clips from elementary school, are the adult dragonflies. ![]() Two of the most common questions I get asked is "Do dragonflies bite?" and "What do dragonflies eat?" In this blog we'll cover both questions, and the extraordinary world of dragonfly feeding, from prehensile jaws to mandibles.Ī dragonfly is an insect in the order Oodonata (Oh-da-nah-da), which means "toothed one" (we'll get back to this). They're fast moving, multi-winged, and bug-eyed creatures that look like aliens. They show up on Memaw's knitted sweater, baby onesies, wine glasses, and summer napkins, but when it comes to actually seeing them in the wild many people cringe. McDonald) A Story of Prehensile Jaws, Butt Propulsion, and Biting Mouth Bitsĭragonflies are one of those creatures that people love and hate. What do Dragonflies Eat? Dragonfly (Photo: Karen S. ![]()
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