Week of August 31, 2025 – September 6, 2025
by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator
As summer winds down and transitions into early fall, I’ve been reflecting on memories of one special group of insects– the dragonflies and damselflies, also known as odonates. These creatures have fascinating lives, including some very impressive adaptations. Around local ponds, streams, and open fields, I enjoy pausing to watch them dart quickly back and forth in pursuit of insect prey. If you hold out your hand in a sunny patch by one of our streams, you might be lucky enough to have an Ebony Jewelwing damselfly land on you. Campers often delight in trying this, and they also love watching dragonflies zoom by around the pond.
Odonates help us by eating plenty of mosquitoes, using their sharp eyesight to snatch them from midair. Each dragonfly eye has over 30,000 individual compound parts, which is far more than most other insects. This allows them to see things very clearly.
They also have amazing flight maneuvering skills, able to move their wings independently, hover in place, and even fly backwards. Strong venation allows their wings to twist easily, and they also have eight muscles attached to each wing. They can think very quickly, darting out in front of prey to intercept it just in time. Dragonflies and damselflies use spines on their legs to help them scoop up prey.
Many people are surprised to learn that dragonflies and damselflies begin their lives in the water, where they are also formidable predators. Dragonfly nymphs have hinged jaws that extend outwards to grab prey like fish, tadpoles, and insects. They have extra sensitive organs that help them to detect changing water currents, allowing them to quickly avoid aquatic predators. Children often laugh when they hear that dragonfly nymphs breathe through their butts! The nymphs take in water through the end of their abdomen, extract oxygen from it using gills, and expel the water back out. Expelling water can help them to move forwards rapidly, another adaptation for escaping predators.
Damselfly nymphs are also aquatic, and they breathe through three tail-like gills on the end of the abdomen. Like dragonfly nymphs, they grab prey using extendable jaws.
These insects are so different from us that it can be hard to comprehend all of the ways that they survive through physical and behavioral adaptations. I wonder what it would be like to see like a dragonfly or damselfly, or how they make such quick calculations in flight. If humans had similar powers, we would surely avoid a lot of accidents!
With fall coming up, some odonates are preparing for a long migratory journey further south. You can help them by providing water features, such as healthy ponds with native vegetation. If you’d like to learn more about how these amazing insects migrate, sign up for our Insect Journeys program coming up on September 12!