Kishore Chandra Sahoo
Scientist (Agricultural Entomology)
ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Gogamukh-787935, Dhemaji, Assam
E-mail: kcsahoo1996@gmail.com
All of you must have seen these insects (Fig. 1) flying randomly in the air or resting on some branches, twigs, poles, wires, etc. They are called dragonflies (Singular: Dragonfly). Have you ever wondered where do they come from? What do they eat? Well, here we will try to understand the amazing life story of these insects, your childhood helicopters!
This flying state of this insect which we generally see is actually the adult stage. The babies (immature stage) of the dragonflies are not usually seen by us because they are aquatic and live in water bodies, ponds, lakes, wells and even rice fields.The male and female adult dragonflies mate in flight (Fig.2) and then the female drops her eggs into the water bodies (Fig. 3). The eggs hatch into babies which are called “naiads” (Fig. 4). These babies spend their life inside the water by feeding on other aquatic organisms like mosquito larvae, tadpoles and even small fishes.
The babies possess a specialized mouthpart formed of a tongue-like structure that remains folded beneath the head and extends out when needed to catch the prey (Fig. 5). The baby dragonfly grows inside water and when mature, it comes out and fixes itself to some grasses or stones. Then the adult dragonfly emerges out, leaving empty skin. Then the adult expands its wing gradually and, in a few minutes, it becomes ready to fly in the air (Fig.6). Adults are also active predators. They catch other insects (like mosquitoes, flies and even other species of dragonflies) (Figs. 7 & 8) with their legs and eat them. This is how the dragonfly completes its life cycle.
** For better understanding of mouthparts of the baby dragonfly, a YouTube video link is provided below.
References & Suggestions:
- Dragonfly-Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly.
- Video Link: A Baby Dragonfly’s Mouth Will Give You Nightmares.
