Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Petalura hesperia, more commonly known as the western petaltail [2] or giant western dragonfly, is a species of dragonfly in the family Petaluridae, originating from Western Australia. [3] It resides near the south-western coast of Australia, often observed near drainage basins. Petalura hesperia lives along streams and rivers where it lays its ...
This dragonfly is found in and around marshes, ponds and slow-moving streams throughout the eastern United States, southern Canada, the Great Plains, and the west coast of North America. This species has two separate populations in North America. One is found from Ontario east to Nova Scotia, extending south into the U.S. to Texas and Florida.
Dragonflies having simple flaps shed the eggs in water, mostly in flight. Dragonflies having ovipositors use them to puncture soft tissues of plants and place the eggs singly in each puncture they make. [32] [34] [35] [36] Dragonfly nymphs vary in form with species, and are loosely classed into claspers, sprawlers, hiders, and burrowers. [17]
A dragonfly finds a place to rest and escape the mid-day sun near Phinizy Swamp on Friday afternoon, June 10, 2011. Dragonflies subsist on a diet of other insects including gnats, mosquitos and ...
Oppositely, females tend to be less active when near the water and prefer to be in areas with overgrown plants and grasses. Female dragonflies typically only go to the water when they are in search of a mate or if they are laying their eggs. Unlike female dragonflies, males have two different types of flight: search flight and patrol flight. [8]
The adult flight season occurs during the warmer months, typically occurring from mid-April to late June, which makes it one of the earliest dragonflies to appear during the spring season. [11] In California, they are noted to have a flight season from February to August.
[5] [11] They do sometimes breed in brackish water. [8] The females lay the eggs into plants such as pondweed, and always lay alone. The aquatic larvae are very aggressive and are likely to influence the native species composition of freshwater ecosystems they arrive in. [5] The larvae are also very large–around 46 millimetres (1.8 in). [12]
Subimago and adult mayflies do not have functioning mouthparts and do not eat; the nymphs are mainly detritivores, feeding on organic particles that are moved into their burrows by the current of water caused by their constantly beating gills. [3] In their nymphal state, they are preyed on by dragonfly nymphs which attack them in their burrows.