I went to the lake last weekend and saw quite a few dragonflies. I don’t remember the last time I saw one at home. Is there a reason for that? RK

Now that you mention it, the same thing happened to me. We went up to Grand Lake on a recent weekend and saw quite a few dragonflies over and around the water. There’s a good reason for this. Let me explain.

Dragonflies are essentially aquatic insects that spend most of their life in the water. So, unless you live near a stream, pond, or lake, dragonflies are going to be hard to find.

Dragonflies are insects in the order Odonata. The insects in this group have large multifaceted eyes, an elongated body, and two pairs of wings. Also included in this group would be damselflies. This order is pretty diverse with over 5000 varieties, some of which are nearing extinction.

Dragonfly eyes have a very unique structure with up to 30,000 individual facets arranged in a way that gives them almost 360 degrees of vision. As you can imagine this gives them a huge advantage when hunting for food. Fortunately for us, one of their favorite foods are mosquitos. Interestingly, almost 80% of a dragonfly’s brain is dedicated to analyzing visual data so good luck sneaking up on a dragonfly.

Sometimes dragonflies are nick-named “mosquito hawks” since they can eat hundreds of mosquitos per day. Their dining habits are not limited to mosquitos though as they will also eat gnats, midges, flies, and even smaller dragonflies. The have also been referred to as “horse stingers” which doesn’t fit because they neither sting nor bite.

It is believed that dragonflies predate dinosaurs by over 100 million years. It has also been theorized that dragonflies may have been the first insect or even animal to take flight. Scientists have discovered fossilized dragonflies from about 250 million years ago. They appear to have been bigger then since this 250-million-year-old dragonfly had a wingspan of about 28 inches. While I think it would be kind of cool to have an insect with a 28-inch wingspan flying around the yard, I am probably in the minority on this. Current dragonflies vary in length from 1 to 4 inches.

Adult female dragonflies lay their eggs either on or near the water. In about 3 to 5 weeks, the eggs hatch into nymphs which are also called naiads. During this nymphal stage, they live buried in mud or attached to plants underwater. Interestingly, this nymphal stage can last anywhere from a few months to up to six years and during this time they molt somewhere between six and fifteen times.

As nymphs they do not resemble adult dragonflies. They have a long slender body, six legs, and a large head, but no wings as they feed on small aquatic animals such as tadpoles, insects, worms, and sometimes very small fish. They simply reach out and grab their dinner as they swim by.

When fully grown, they crawl out of the water to finish the growth process which can take half an hour. During this time, the adult dragonfly emerges from the naiad skin. Then, when the wings are ready, they begin to fly in search of a mate. Adult dragonflies can live up to six weeks. Interestingly, dragonfly mating occurs while flying. You may have seen two attached dragonflies flying or remaining stationary for a moment as they land on something. This attachment can last up to several days before they separate and go their own ways.

The “dragon” part of their name can be attributed to their strong jaws which are used to catch their prey. The fly portion of the name is pretty obvious. They are also the world’s fastest insects in that they can fly at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.

When dragonflies are hunting for food, they will fly in a zig-zag pattern above to water or your lawn essentially scooping up mosquitos and other insects from their air with their front legs that are held like a basket just beneath their mouth.

Damselflies are oftentimes confused with dragonflies but there are a couple of ways you can tell them apart. First of all, damselflies are smaller and more delicate than dragonflies. Plus, when they are at rest, damselflies hold their wings straight up and together above their bodies. In contrast, dragonfly’s wings remain horizontal while at rest.

Unfortunately, if you would like to attract dragonflies to your landscape, you’re going to need some sort of a small pond or large water feature. Outside of that, you’ll just have to go to the lake to enjoy them. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org Photo: Mary C Legg, Bugwood.org