10 POINTS whats so special about dragonflys?

Question

what do they mean....

anything.... DETAILS!

Answer 1

Dragonflies are awesome, as far as insects go. Lightning bugs are also awesome.

Answer 2

they only live for 24 hours and die.

Answer 3

Dragonflies eat mosquitos and black flies. They don't bite people. That's enough for me.

Answer 4

Why are they called dragonflies?

The name comes from their fierce jaws, which they use to catch flies (among other winged insects).

Where do dragonflies come from?

The dragonfly begins its life as an egg. Adult female dragonflies lay their eggs in water. After about two weeks, the eggs hatch and an immature dragonfly, or nymph, emerges. The nymphs are not pretty like the adults. They have tiny wings and a large lower lip, which they use to catch their prey (often mosquito larvae). Dragonfly nymphs live in the water. As they grow, they molt (shed their skin). Nymphs of some species may take as long as three years to mature.

When the dragonfly nymph reaches maturity, it crawls out of the water onto a plant stem. Then its skin begins to split. First the head, then the thorax, then the legs, and then the wings of an adult dragonfly emerge. Soon the newly emerged dragonfly is able to fly. The process takes about two hours. It takes about two days before the adult dragonfly's beautiful colors are fully developed. Adult dragonflies live only a few months.

How long have dragonflies been around?

Dragonflies are ancient insects. They were around before the dinosaurs! Ancient dragonflies may have been considerably larger than those we see today. A fossilized impression of a dragonfly wing, found in a coal mine in England, is the oldest known dragonfly specimen. This dragonfly lived 300 million years ago and had a wingspan of eight inches. The largest known dragonfly had a wingspan of 24 inches (two feet). Today, the largest dragonfly is found in South America and has a wingspan of slightly over seven inches. Other than being smaller, modern-day dragonflies do not look very different from their ancestors.

Are dragonflies beneficial to humans?

You bet they are! In fact, dragonflies are sometimes called "mosquito hawk" because they catch and eat so many mosquitoes. Always on the hunt, dragonflies consume gnats, flies, and mosquitoes--all of which humans consider pests.

Why are dragonflies such good hunters?

Dragonflies' ability to maneuver makes them able to out-fly their prey. But dragonflies also have the advantage of excellent eyesight. If you've ever watched dragonflies, no doubt you have noticed their huge eyes. Each of the two large eyes is made up of thousands of six-sided units. Together, these smaller eyes enable a dragonfly to detect even the slightest movement. To test this, try sneaking up and catching a dragonfly. You usually come up empty-handed.

Starting out life as small nymphs underwater, they grow to be approximately three inches long, with a wingspan averaging two to five inches in width. While this may seem large for an insect, keep in mind that as they have evolved from pre-historic times, they have gotten considerably smaller. Evidence shows that at one point in time they may have had a wingspan of over two ‘feet’! One very interesting fact of the dragonfly is his six legs. Each of the legs is covered in short bristles. Using their bristle-covered legs to form an oval shaped basket allows them to scoop insects, such as mosquitoes, right out of the air. Dragonflies not only eat mosquitoes; they also keep the fly population and other flying insects under control.



Surprisingly, dragonflies will spend only a very short part of their life span as actual dragonflies. They will live as nymphs for up to four years, shedding their skin up to fifteen times, yet when they finally mature into adults, the dragonfly stage, they will survive only a few months.

Answer 5

They mean a flying insect that brightens our nights.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Perhaps God would have a better answer than I.

Answer 6

feed the hungry birds

Answer 7

The insect equvalent of a F-22 Raptor. Fast, mobile and able to change course fast. Man have been successful in swatting dirty houseflies. But how about dragonflies? Think about it. Additionally, it's young (larva i think) is a true predator. It hunts fishes with its pincer-like jaws that can be extended further, much like a short-distance missile.

Answer 8

they do have 4 wings.

Answer 9

like she said, they only live for 24 hours, enough time to reproduce and die.

Answer 10

fire ball?