All there is to know about dragonflies and damselflies
The most striking difference is generally the body shape and size, (with a few exceptions) the damselfly is much smaller and more delicately built than a dragonfly.
Dragonflies and damselflies are two distinctly different species with many hundreds of sub-species of each worldwide.
Dragonflies are found on every continent except Antarctica, they are also known to migrate across oceans.
In the greater Durban area, we are blessed to have quite a few different species of these little brightly coloured insects.
Dragonflies and damselflies share many of the same characteristics:
They start their lives off as an egg laid in water, ponds and stagnant pools, but some of the bigger dragonflies adapt well in raging rivers.
When the eggs hatch the larva are usually dark in colour and sort of resemble the adults, however they are dull and do not have wings.
The larva continues to live in water, where they catch and feed on small waterborne insects, tadpoles and even small fish.
They catch their prey with the use of specially adapted mouth parts that work like little arms shooting out from under their throat with lightning speed. It is said that this action is one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom.
The larva can live in the water for a few months or up to five years, depending on the species and when the time is right they climb out of the water, onto a reed or rock where their drab brown exoskeleton bursts open and out comes the brightly coloured insect we all know.
It takes a while for the adult body and wings to dry, but once dried they can begin the adult part of their life’s journey.
As adults they fly with great speed and agility and are often seen flying around almost any sort of water body, even swimming pools. The adult insects are also carnivorous, catching and eating smaller insects in mid-air.
Physical differences between dragonflies and damselflies:
The most striking difference is generally the body shape and size, (with a few exceptions) the damselfly is much smaller and more delicately built than a dragonfly.
Damselflies look like a little piece of cotton flying around, whereas the dragonfly is a much bigger insect.
Dragonflies have much larger compound eyes that seem to join together at the front of their face, where the damselfly has much smaller compound eyes that are clearly divided on both sides of the head.
Another factor when distinguishing between the two is wing shape and how the wings lay when the insect is at rest. When settled the dragonflies wings come to rest spread outwards, while the damselflies wings come to rest neatly folded up above their backs.
Do dragonflies or damselflies pose any risk to humans?
There are quite a few old wives tales and myths about these creatures that are simply not true hence a lot of people are needlessly terrified of them.
They do not have any sort of stinger on their tails or anywhere else on their bodies. Many people also say that they can deliver a painful bite, while this may be true, they will never land on you and bite you.
Humans are simply not a part of their diet. The only time they will bite is if they are physically held in the hand, the bite does not contain any venom and in most cases does not even penetrate the skin.
Contact Warren Dick to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified, call or WhatsApp him on 072-211-0353. Follow the conversation on Facebook, Warren’s Small World.
