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An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related damselflies, which make up the other odonatan infraorder and are similar in body plan, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold ...
Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies (as well as the Epiophlebia damsel-dragonflies). The two major groups are distinguished with dragonflies (Anisoptera) usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and ...
They frequently fly high up into the sky in search of prey, which includes butterflies, other odonata and tadpoles. If their hunt is successful, they eat their smaller prey while flying. The dragonflies breed in a variety of aquatic habitats from large ponds to dikes and slow-moving rivers, but require a plentiful supply of vegetation in the water.
The expert aviators have four sets of wings rather than two, which move independently of each other, allowing dragonflies to quickly dart forward, backward, sideways, or even just hover in the air ...
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 ...
After mating, the male and female separate, and the female flies off alone to lay her eggs. She does this by hovering above small streams or ponds and dipping the end of her abdomen into the water. Often she deposits her eggs in many different places in order to prevent the naiads from using each other as a source of food.
The insect family Macromiidae contains the dragonfly species known as cruisers or skimmers.They tend to fly over bodies of water (and roads) straight down the middle. They are similar to Aeshnidae in size, but the eyes are green and just barely meet at the top of the head.
Damselflies tend to be less robust, and appear weaker in flight; their wings are narrow near the base and (in most species) held folded back over the abdomen when perched. Dragonfly eyes occupy much of the animal's head, touching (or nearly touching) each other across the face. In damselflies, there is typically a gap in between the eyes.