Stroll through any area in the summer months, including ponds, swamps, and riverbanks, and you’ll often see these beautiful insects in the vicinity, as they prefer calmer waters. They are different to damselflies in that they can also often be seen flying quite far away from areas of water. There are approximately 30 species of dragonflies in Great Britain and Ireland, and they are divided into five families and fourteen genera. The five main families are classified into Hawkers, Chasers, Emeralds, Skimmers, and Darters.
Dragonflies come from the order of insects called Ordonata, which also includes damselflies. While damselflies are from the suborder Zygoptera, dragonflies belong to the suborder Anisoptera. This Greek name translates as “ragged wings.” Dragonflies have wider and shorter rear wings compared to the front pair of wings. Dragonflies have six Legacies; however, most of them cannot walk very well.
Dragonflies are exceptionally fast fliers and are ranked as some of the fastest insects in the world. Some foreign species of dragonflies have a cruising speed of ten miles per hour, with a top speed of up to thirty-four miles per hour!
Dragonflies look different than damselflies. Not only are the hind wings a different size, the Dragonfly cannot hold its wings against its body like the Damselfly; you have to keep them perpendicularly away from your body. The damselfly obviously has separate eyes, while the eyes of dragonflies usually touch.
Like damselflies, female dragonflies lay their eggs in water, and the eggs hatch into water nymphs. They look incredibly strange, with a crusty-looking lump on their back. Most of its life cycle takes place underwater, as a nymph. The nymphal stage of their life cycle can last up to four years, depending on the species. Dragonfly nymphs will also sometimes eat other smaller dragonfly nymphs. Once the transformation is complete, the nymph will climb up a plant stem, emerge from the water, and shed its nymph skin to emerge as an adult dragonfly.
The lifespan of an adult dragonfly is usually only a couple of months. During this time, it will search for a mate and eat small insects, such as flies, mosquitoes, bees, ants, and sometimes butterflies. They are bigger than damselflies; for example, the southern hawker dragonfly is six centimeters long, while damselflies are typically only three centimeters long. They have a long abdomen, which has a wider section near the wings. This is usually colored, however the colors are usually thicker than those of the damselfly, for example if it is blue and black, the black will be thicker and the bands will be blue.