Are dragonflies intelligent?

Question

As it says right there. Are they considered clever or not? Are they supposed to be mentally good or just average? And I mean the insects. I'm struggling with a load of other things that keep coming up when I try to Google this.

Answer 1

Intelligent compared to what?

Dragonflies work almost entirely on instinct.  They are pretty much "hard wired" to do what they do, and because of that they can't do anything else.  Considering what they do (hunt, eat, mate, lay eggs), it does not require a lot of intelligence.

One of the things that makes something "intelligent" is its ability to adapt to different circumstances, by "solving " puzzles and tasks.  You put a monkey in a cage, and it will fiddle with the lock and try to get out.  Put my cat in a cage, and he will play with the lock and try to get out (but lacking thumbs he can't work the lock). Put a dragonfly in a cage an it will just bang its little head against the side until it dies of starvation.  It lacks the intelligence to try to figure out the problem and release itself.

There is no real evidence that dragonflies "think".  They just react to their circumstance.  Bug gets in front of them -- ZAP! -- they eat it.  Time to lay eggs -- find a stick.

Generally speaking, dragon flies are not considered "intelligent".  They are compeletely instinctive.

Answer 2

I guess so, but they don't think like we do.

Dragonflies have a unique way of catching their prey, even though you wouldn't think that they are predators!

They clasp down their prey by using their legs that are studded in barbs or spikes. Prey can't escape from a dragonfly because dragonflies always attack from below.

But I don't think that they are capable of learning tricks, if that is what you are thinking. =)