5 ) At the end of its larval stage, the dragonfly crawls out of the water, then its exoskeleton cracks open and releases the insect’s abdomen, which had been packed in like a telescope. dragonfly worldwide. Green darners, for example, fly south each fall in sizeable swarms and then migrate north again in the spring. California Do Not Sell My Info The wings of the dragonfly provide superior stability with high load-bearing capacity as it flies, glides, and hovers Their wings are made of membranes and veins with a a complex design that provides excellent versatility, agility as well as performing maneuverable fliers. Required fields are marked Once the eggs have hatched the first stage in their lifestyle can begin. How to Identify the Common Green Darner Dragonfly, How to Distinguish Between a Dragonfly and a Damselfly, Insects: The Most Diverse Animal Group in the Planet, 15 Misconceptions Kids (And Adults) Have About Insects, Dragonflies -The Hawks of the Insect World Are Important Environmental Indicators, B.A., Political Science, Rutgers University. Its four wings come out, and they dry and harden over the next several hours to days. When he finds a receptive female, he grasps her behind her head with claspers at the tip of his abdomen, and the two fly off together. Photographs From the Last Quiet Places on Earth. Adults live only about a month, hunting flies, mosquitos, and midges. There are over 5,000 species of dragonflies. When a nymph is finally ready for adulthood, it crawls out of the water onto a rock or plant stem and molts one final time. Although in general, the adults get to live for an average of six months, the lifespan of other species of dragonflies lives only for a few weeks. They are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness in Japan, but seen as sinister in European folklore. As with other migratory species, dragonflies relocate to follow or find needed resources or in response to environmental changes such as impending cold weather. Until their bodies fully harden they are weak flyers, making them ripe for the picking. At such speeds, a dragonfly can beat her wings up to 1,800 times per minute. In flight, the adult dragonfly can propel itself in six directions: upward, downward, forward, back, to left and to right. They have transparent wings, long bodies, and large eyes. After the larva stage, they would crawl out of the water with the dragonfly’s exoskeleton cracking open to release its abdomen. As a result, dragonflies grew about 15% larger than their normal size.