What Do Dragonflies Eat? A Detailed Introduction to Their Main Food Types

Dragonflies are hemimetabolous insects of the order Odonata. Odonata is a relatively primitive group within the class Insecta and is also one of the smaller orders, divided into three suborders: Anisoptera, Zygoptera, and Anisozygoptera. There are about 5,000 species worldwide, and more than 300 species in China. Both adults and larvae are carnivorous species. Let's take a look below at what dragonflies eat!

What do dragonflies eat?

Dragonflies generally fly over ponds or rivers. Their larvae (nymphs) develop in water. Adults prey on flying insects in flight, mainly feeding on mosquitoes and other insects harmful to humans. Dragonflies eat somewhat different things at different stages. Early-instar dragonfly nymphs feed on small crustaceans, protozoans, and other aquatic animals. Later-instar nymphs eat chironomid larvae, aquatic beetles, and snails, and even small fish. The prey of newly emerged adults is usually small flying insects, but some often eat prey weighing 60% of their own body weight.

How much do dragonflies eat?

The appetite of dragonflies is also quite astonishing. A large green dragonfly commonly known as the "green-headed fellow" can casually eat around 2,000 aphids and other such small flying insects in a day. It is said that a single emperor dragonfly can eat nearly 1,000 small flying insects in a day, and can eat 40 flies or 840 mosquitoes in 1 hour. At the same time, dragonfly larvae are especially fond of eating mosquito larvae. One dragonfly larva can eat more than 3,000 mosquito larvae in a year.

Why do dragonflies touch water?

A dragonfly touching water is a female dragonfly laying eggs. Dragonflies usually lay eggs on aquatic plants by small rivers and in ponds. After the eggs are laid, the larvae that hatch on the aquatic plants are called "water nymphs." The water nymph must live a crawling life in the water for a long time, at least 1 year, or as long as seven or eight years, before it can emerge as an adult dragonfly. After emerging into adulthood, the short, fat abdomen becomes increasingly slender, and the wings that were originally folded together unfold one by one, finally becoming a dragonfly that looks like a small airplane. It can be seen that "dragonfly touching water" is a natural part of a dragonfly's life -- laying eggs to reproduce offspring.