One of the most mobile large insects - dragonflies - are real hunters. Possessing powerful wings for their class, they literally cut through the air in pursuit of prey.
Insect-scales
Dragonflies were called small scales in ancient times for their flight and the type of wings that are horizontally spread in the air. Today, the population of dragonflies is rapidly declining, this is due to both poor ecology and climate change. Dragonflies are thermophilic: they need a high temperature of water and air for life and reproduction. They are demanding on the flora of the area, prefer swampy and flooded meadows, where there is a lot of food.
Not likely, but true: a dragonfly can hunt an object many times larger than itself. Large individuals even attack small frogs or fry.
The dragonfly is a predator. She eats a flying gnat, which inhabits swamps and coastal areas of rivers and lakes in abundance. Thanks to its huge eyes and wide-angle image capture, the insect can see its prey at a distance of up to 12 meters. At the same time, the location of the latter does not actually matter, because the dragonfly can fly backwards and see everything that is happening in its tail area.
The dragonfly's jaw is relatively powerful, and the teeth resemble files, so mosquitoes and flies captured by the dragonfly die almost instantly, being bitten in half. On the fly, the dragonfly catches the victim with its paws, which, thanks to the movable bristles, seem to lock it in the vice of its own body. The insect cannot eat in flight. Therefore, it lands with its prey on the nearest large grass or leaf.
The main diet of dragonflies consists of:
- mayfly, - freckles, - caddis flies, - retinoptera, - Lepidoptera.
However, diptera insects still occupy a large share in the diet.
Nymph food
The dragonfly reproduces by laying eggs from which nymphs hatch. They lead an exclusively underwater lifestyle for one and a half years, feeding exclusively on water fleas, tadpoles, larvae of other underwater inhabitants. The "child" of a dragonfly is extremely voracious due to the fact that it consumes a large amount of energy, moving quickly, rapidly. In addition, larvae and nymphs change their skin 10-15 times during their life, and this is a colossal waste of energy.
Unique nymphs live longer than dragonflies. The life cycle of a dragonfly is 6 weeks, a nymph is 5 years.
Nymphs are not hunted by paws or the ability to swim in jerks due to the ejection of water from the body, as many think, but a unique organ - the lip, which is located under the "chin". A nymph with a lip literally captures a small insect and sends it into her mouth.
