How long dragonflies live

Learn more about some really cool dragonfly symbolism in Europe and Japan. The legends and folktails will surprise you!

How many kinds of dragonflies and damselflies are there? Currently about species of dragonflies and damselflies are known; experts guess that there are probably between and species in total. Click here for resources to identify dragonflies in your neighborhood.

How long do they live? Most temperate-zone species live as adults less than a month, though some species can live as long as six months. Check out our dragonfly life cycle article for more information.

What enemies do dragonflies and damselflies have? Birds, spiders, frogs, larger dragonflies. In the larval stage, they are preyed on by fish, frogs, toads and newts, and other water invertebrates. How can I tell a dragonfly from a damselfly? Damselflies are usually slim, their forewings and hindwings narrow at the base and have similar shapes, and their eyes are widely separated.

Most species hold their wings above the abdomen when they are resting. Dragonflies are larger. Their eyes touch near the top of their head. The wings do not narrow at the base; the forewings and hindwings differ in shape. When they are resting, the wings are usually spread. What are the biggest dragonfly and damselfly?

The Megaloprepus coerulatus damselfly of Central America has a wingspan up to 19 cm. The bulkiest known dragonfly is Petalura ingentissima from Australia, with a wingspan up to 16 cm. Extinct fossil dragonflies with wingspans up to cm have been identified. What is the smallest dragonfly? Once the larva's transformation is complete, the newly emerged adult will have to wait several hours before its wings dry out and become strong enough to fly.

The dragonfly at this stage is called a teneral which is a Latin word meaning tender or soft or delicate. This is a very critical period in the life cycle of the dragonfly. The tenerals are generally weak and they cannot fly very well. This makes them easily exposed to predators, which can also be dragonfly larvae themselves. Many more of them die when they are knocked down by strong winds or by boats. Once the adult becomes capable of flying, it becomes once more a voracious predator, showing off its wonderful self defense mechanisms.

Though the dragonflies themselves are predators, they must be very careful of predators like birds, lizards, frogs, fish etc. They have many adaptations that will enable them to escape these predators. They have exceptional eye sight and fast and agile flight movements. The adult life of the dragonfly does not last long. They live just long enough to mature and reproduce.

The adult dragonfly will not live beyond several months, depending on the quality of the weather. They may live as long as six months provided the weather is dry and warm.

However, in the short and sometimes cold weather, adults will not live for longer than several weeks. Most species will only live for between three and six months as adult dragonflies. The nymph will live in the water for between one and four years, depending on the species.

During this time, it will eat the larvae of other insects and feast on small tadpoles and sometimes even fish. Rather than pupating, the young nymph will move from its aquatic environment onto the riverbank, where it will hang from a branch or steam and dry out in the sun. The nymph will undergo metamorphosis and turn into a dragonfly. After transforming into a dragonfly, the newly emerged adult sits in the sunshine for a few hours so that its wings get stronger and dry out. At this stage, the dragonfly is known as a teneral, a Latin word that means tender and soft.

During this stage, the dragonfly is vulnerable to predators and can even be eaten by other dragonfly nymphs. Many dragonflies die at this stage as they can be knocked down by a boat or blown around in the wind.

Once the dragonfly is strong enough to fly, it will be safer and become a vicious predator. At this stage, the young dragonflies may be eaten by birds, lizards, frogs, and even fish. They are generally good at self-defense, have excellent eye sight, and fly quickly, allowing many of them to adapt and escape from predators.