Invertebrates 101 Chapter 3
The Insects around the Pond - Dragonflies and Damselfiles
The most impressive insects for many people are the mighty Odonata, otherwise known as Dragonflies and Damselflies. These amazing flyers, some of the fastest and most powerful on the planet, are equally adept hunters, both as larvae and adults. The larval stages are so aggressive they’ve earned the moniker Water Tigers, and for good reason. Remember the scary mouths of the Aliens Sigourney Weaver defeats in outer space? The hidden jaws that that shoot forward and pierce skulls, long range, in the flicker of an eye? That’s how Water Tiger mouthparts work underwater. Water Tigers are ambush predators that quietly wait for an unsuspecting insect, small fish or tadpole to swim by… and BAM! an extendable, underslung jaw tipped with two needle sharp hollow fangs shoots out and punctures their prey, retracting it back to their waiting mouths. They don’t just have quick-draw jaws, either; because their gills are located in their rectums, they have the ability to “inhale” with their powerful abdomens and then jet their entire bodies forward by suddenly blasting water out the anus, giving a whole new meaning to the term “attacking your food.” Now that’s talent.
Damselflies aren’t quite as well equipped as their larger relatives, with no rectal gills to play with, just feathery appendages and smaller mouthparts, but they are equally effective at controlling Mosquitos, both larvae and adult skeeters. You can tell the Dragons from the Damsels by their wings. Dragonflies have slightly broader lower wings than uppers, and they are held stiffly out to the sides, where the Damselflies usually hold their wings vertically and together.
With some of the most highly developed sex organs in the insect world, even mating is a quite an affair, with an aerial dance between partners culminating in synchronized linked flight, before the female separates to “dap” her eggs into the water, touching the end of her abdomen to the water’s surface while hovering, as if setting tiny gumdrops. In both groups, the Naiads, as the larval stage is called, can stay underwater from a few months up to 5 years, before crawling up out of the pond on a stem and splitting their skins to reveal the shimmering wings of the adult flying form. In the air both Dragonflies and Damselflies are as deadly as adults as they were as juveniles, taking mosquitos and other flies on the wing. Able to move instantly in any direction, hover in place and rocket 15 meters in a single second, the largest Dragonflies are the undisputed aerial masters of the pond, and their 5600 species come in all imaginable colors and combinations.
As far as their impact on the pond goes, these guys are definitely good news. Between the voracious appetites that Water Tigers have for Mosquito larvae, and the equally energetic aerial attacks on adult Mosquitos and other flies that the adults continually mount, Dragonflies and Damselflies help keep insect pests at bay, and the loss of an occasional tadpole or small fish is a small price to pay for these beautiful pond dwellers. Most people actually want to introduce dragonflies to their backyard pond but dragonflies tend to return to the pond of their original birthplace. If you want to get more dragonflies to visit you, the best way is to actually purchase dragonfly larvae or nymphs that will hatch out in your pond. Dragonflies are now so popular among pond owners that many aquatic shops and water gardening stores offer dragonfly larvae for sale.
The most impressive insects for many people are the mighty Odonata, otherwise known as Dragonflies and Damselflies. These amazing flyers, some of the fastest and most powerful on the planet, are equally adept hunters, both as larvae and adults. The larval stages are so aggressive they’ve earned the moniker Water Tigers, and for good reason. Remember the scary mouths of the Aliens Sigourney Weaver defeats in outer space? The hidden jaws that that shoot forward and pierce skulls, long range, in the flicker of an eye? That’s how Water Tiger mouthparts work underwater. Water Tigers are ambush predators that quietly wait for an unsuspecting insect, small fish or tadpole to swim by… and BAM! an extendable, underslung jaw tipped with two needle sharp hollow fangs shoots out and punctures their prey, retracting it back to their waiting mouths. They don’t just have quick-draw jaws, either; because their gills are located in their rectums, they have the ability to “inhale” with their powerful abdomens and then jet their entire bodies forward by suddenly blasting water out the anus, giving a whole new meaning to the term “attacking your food.” Now that’s talent.
Damselflies aren’t quite as well equipped as their larger relatives, with no rectal gills to play with, just feathery appendages and smaller mouthparts, but they are equally effective at controlling Mosquitos, both larvae and adult skeeters. You can tell the Dragons from the Damsels by their wings. Dragonflies have slightly broader lower wings than uppers, and they are held stiffly out to the sides, where the Damselflies usually hold their wings vertically and together.
With some of the most highly developed sex organs in the insect world, even mating is a quite an affair, with an aerial dance between partners culminating in synchronized linked flight, before the female separates to “dap” her eggs into the water, touching the end of her abdomen to the water’s surface while hovering, as if setting tiny gumdrops. In both groups, the Naiads, as the larval stage is called, can stay underwater from a few months up to 5 years, before crawling up out of the pond on a stem and splitting their skins to reveal the shimmering wings of the adult flying form. In the air both Dragonflies and Damselflies are as deadly as adults as they were as juveniles, taking mosquitos and other flies on the wing. Able to move instantly in any direction, hover in place and rocket 15 meters in a single second, the largest Dragonflies are the undisputed aerial masters of the pond, and their 5600 species come in all imaginable colors and combinations.
As far as their impact on the pond goes, these guys are definitely good news. Between the voracious appetites that Water Tigers have for Mosquito larvae, and the equally energetic aerial attacks on adult Mosquitos and other flies that the adults continually mount, Dragonflies and Damselflies help keep insect pests at bay, and the loss of an occasional tadpole or small fish is a small price to pay for these beautiful pond dwellers. Most people actually want to introduce dragonflies to their backyard pond but dragonflies tend to return to the pond of their original birthplace. If you want to get more dragonflies to visit you, the best way is to actually purchase dragonfly larvae or nymphs that will hatch out in your pond. Dragonflies are now so popular among pond owners that many aquatic shops and water gardening stores offer dragonfly larvae for sale.
