Wild, transient, boggy and rare. Wet woodlands are now some of our least common wooded habitats. Learn about these special places and why they are so important to wildlife. What do dragonflies eat? And other dragonfly facts. What is the difference between dragonflies and damselflies? How long do dragonflies live? Dragonfly eyes — why are they so special? How fast can a dragonfly fly? When did dragonflies first appear? Keep exploring. Trees woods and wildlife Other invertebrates Find out about the millions of woodland insects and invertebrates that live among the leaves, under bark, in dead wood, leaf litter and soil.
Trees woods and wildlife Wet woodland Wild, transient, boggy and rare. These insects make look a little clumsy, but the jaws of dragonfly larvae can flash out like clawed arms to snatch up insects, even small fish, that happen by.
If you were a small aquatic invertebrate, even a small fish, you would definitely not want to see this! Like adult dragonflies, juvenile dragonflies, called nymphs, are fierce predators — for their size.
Dragonfly nymphs occur in many aquatic habitats. In still water, algae sometimes grows on their backs. It's easy to see the two scooplike halves of the jaws on this dragonfly nymph. They cover most of the bottom part of the head. These extend outward quickly to grab prey. Unlike the larvae of damselflies, dragonfly larvae have five wedge-shaped or pointed extensions at the tip of the abdomen.
These are not gills. In dragonfly larvae, the gills are located inside the rectum. Dragonflies have slender, elongated abdomens, robust bodies, and 2 pairs of elaborately winged wings that are usually outstretched horizontally. Similar Species. Damselfly Larvae. Mayfly Larvae. Stonefly Larvae. Fishfly Larvae. Alderfly Larvae. Caddisfly Larvae. About Aquatic Invertebrates in Missouri. Missouri's streams, lakes, and other aquatic habitats hold thousands of kinds of invertebrates — worms, freshwater mussels, snails, crayfish, insects, and other animals without backbones.
These creatures are vital links in the aquatic food chain, and their presence and numbers tell us a lot about water quality. Freshwater Mussels Facts. Crayfish Facts. Larger larvae will even eat small fish and amphibians.
Once they are adults, the dragonflies will emerge from the water and become proficient aerial predators. With their new wings, they will grab up anything they can as they swoop through the air, from mosquitos to moths. They primarily catch their prey with their legs, grasping hold of them as they fly past. Also read: Is a Dragonfly a Vertebrate or an Invertebrate? Dragonflies eat their food using their jaws, munching up their often still living prey and swallowing them down. However, a dragonflies jaw is a little different from that of a mammal, having several different components, including the mandibles, which are used to grasp and tear up the food, and the maxillae that help to chew it.
Dragonflies eat almost constantly, needing to fatten themselves up as quickly as possible so they can breed and produce young. Like all insects they require external heat to give them warmth and allow them to move, meaning they are largely inactive during cold weather or at nighttime.
But both as larvae and as adult dragonflies, they will eat whenever they have the opportunity. The way dragonflies move may seem completely random to us, but these extraordinary insects actually hunt with purpose and use cunning to catch their prey.
Interestingly different species of dragonflies often use different styles of hunting to get their meals. Gleaning is a method that involves hovering over leaves and vegetation in order to snatch up the tasty insects perching there. Dragonflies are extraordinary fliers and are able to hover or even fly backwards when required. Gleaning is commonly used by clubtails and damselfly species, who are a close relative of dragonflies.
Hawking is a very common technique, where dragonflies fly backwards and forwards to capture prey as they pass by, either with their arms or their mouths. Species like southern hawkers commonly use this technique. Sallying is a method used by species such as skimmers; this is where a dragonfly perches and looks for prey before darting out to grab it. When we think of dragonflies, we tend to think of their adult form, which for us is the more visible and dramatic incarnation of a dragonfly.
However, most dragonflies spend far more time as larvae than as adults. During their larval stage, they live under the water and eat aquatic invertebrates, such as mosquito larvae. Lifecycle Explained. Most invertebrates can fall prey to a hungry dragonfly, though flying insects are more likely to be predated.
Flies are one of a dragonflies favourite foods, being readily available and easy to catch. Mosquitos are ideal food for dragonflies, and they will eat them both when they are in their larval form and as adults. There are many different kinds of bees, and dragonflies will happily munch on any of them, from solitary bees to honey bees.
Extra care must, of course, be taken with those that have stings, as they can use these to defend themselves. But with a dragonflies speed and size, most bees stand little chance as they are grabbed out of the sky and devoured by strong and merciless jaws. Much of a butterfly is made up of large wings, which do not make a tasty snack.
The time spent discarding these cumbersome extras could be taken up catching quick and easy flies to chomp down on. Flies are a dragonflies favourite food. Though we tend to think of flies as being house flies or blue bottles, there are actually , species globally, which come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes.
This means the dragonfly has plenty of fodder available to fill their stomachs. Who eats who is perhaps the question when it comes to dragonflies and spiders. The truth is that sometimes the spider gets the dragonfly, and sometimes the dragonfly gets the spider. The two groups can encounter each other in all kinds of situations. For example, aquatic spiders may meet dragonfly larvae underwater, while young spiders ballooning floating through the air on a strand of silk may encounter dragonflies as they swoop through the air.
And of course, a dragonfly may meet a spider as it hangs out on its web.
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