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The flight muscles need to be kept at a suitable temperature for the dragonfly to be able to fly. Being cold-blooded, they can raise their temperature by basking in the sun. Early in the morning, they may choose to perch in a vertical position with the wings outstretched, while in the middle of the day, a horizontal stance may be chosen.
Dragonflies also use postural thermoregulation to increase body temperature. Keeping the flight muscles in the thorax warm is especially important, since otherwise the insect cannot fly. Dragonflies may position their wings to reflect sun onto themselves, or, if they are perched on a warm surface, to form a "greenhouse" over the thorax.
They occur in both bare and sunny locations, where it is often the first dragonfly to colonise new habitats such as newly created ponds, and well vegetated ponds. L. depressa are often seen away from water as the adults are very mobile and undergo a period of maturation away from water after emergence. The adults are also migratory.
Dragonflies and damselflies have fore and hind wings similar in shape and size. Each operates independently, which gives a degree of fine control and mobility in terms of the abruptness with which they can change direction and speed, not seen in other flying insects. Odonates are all aerial predators, and they have always hunted other airborne ...
Incorporate some stones and native plants to give the dragonflies places to hide when they emerge from their nymph stage (they need a few days to become strong enough fliers that they can evade ...
They are ambush predators, waiting on a prominent perch - such as a leaf or the top of a gate, until prey fly past, whereupon they will fly after it. They are territorial on breeding waters, often attempting to chase much bigger dragonflies away such as southern hawkers. This habit of repeatedly returning to a sunny spot allows you to easily ...
Australian emperor laying eggs, guarded by the male in tandem position. The Australian emperor is notable as the dragonfly in which motion camouflage was studied by Mizutani et al.: males of Anax papuensis are fiercely territorial, and approach and attack rivals, the males choose a flight path that keeps their image as seen by the target still with respect to a landmark point.
Males also have secondary genitalia (including the anterior lamina, hamuli and posterior lamina) on S2 and S3. Female damselflies and some dragonflies have a strong ovipositor on the underside of S8 and S9, but in many dragonflies the egg-laying apparatus is merely a spout, a basket, or a pair of flaps. Some species have foliations (leaf-like ...