If you're not sure of the difference between dragonflies and damselflies, here are a few easy tips to get you started. The first thing to do is notice their flight. If they are energetic flyers, it's probably a dragonfly. Damselflies tend to perch more often and are weaker fliers. Next, observe their wing position when they are at rest. Dragonflies hold their wings out to the side like an airplane, while damselflies will hold their wings vertically, pressed together above their thorax and pointing up and back. You'll also observe that the wings or the damselfly are smaller than the dragonfly's, and are similar in shape. The dragonfly's fore and hind-wings are shape differently. The eyes offer another helpful clue: dragonfly eyes often meet in the middle; the damselfly's eyes are set apart father to the sides of the head. No matter which, both members of the Odonata Order are a delight to watch and deserve our kokua: many are endangered due to loss or degradation of habitat, and the nymphs are often preyed upon by invasive fish, frogs, and invertebrates.
They're beautiful, they don't sting, and they eat mosquitoes - what more could you want in an insect? This is Hawaii's endemic pinao, the Giant Hawaiian Dragonfly, Anax strenuus. Found at higher elevations, this skilled hunter often scouts his way around ponds, marshes, and other aquatic habitats in search of insects, zipping around at impressive speeds and with great maneuverability. They can hover, move forward, backward, up, down, and execute sharp turns with the greatest of ease. This is due in part to the wings of the dragonfly; they can move their fore-wings and hind-wings independently, unlike bees and butterflies that flap their wings in unison. Eggs are laid in or near the water by the female, who uses her abdomen like a needle to cut into plant tissue to deposit her eggs. Such behavior of this and related dragonflies earned them the name "darners." The eggs hatch into larvae known as nymphs, or naiads, and live aquatic, carnivorous lives. How to Tell Damsels From Dragons
If you're not sure of the difference between dragonflies and damselflies, here are a few easy tips to get you started. The first thing to do is notice their flight. If they are energetic flyers, it's probably a dragonfly. Damselflies tend to perch more often and are weaker fliers. Next, observe their wing position when they are at rest. Dragonflies hold their wings out to the side like an airplane, while damselflies will hold their wings vertically, pressed together above their thorax and pointing up and back. You'll also observe that the wings or the damselfly are smaller than the dragonfly's, and are similar in shape. The dragonfly's fore and hind-wings are shape differently. The eyes offer another helpful clue: dragonfly eyes often meet in the middle; the damselfly's eyes are set apart father to the sides of the head. No matter which, both members of the Odonata Order are a delight to watch and deserve our kokua: many are endangered due to loss or degradation of habitat, and the nymphs are often preyed upon by invasive fish, frogs, and invertebrates.
2 Comments
Carla Gimpel
6/12/2019 04:11:03 am
Aloha ~ <3 ~ Pinao found on the top of Mauna Kea (06/06/2019)
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Ana Mokena-Nicol
11/4/2023 03:40:15 pm
Aloha. There are some people looking for the missing link between dragonfly which feed on mosquito, and a mosquito carrying avian-typhoid in the mountains on one of the islands...Do you know which plants the dragonflies most typically lay their eggs into, also the entire life cycle? Maybe you could share that with the people trying to save the Akikiki Kaua'i ...
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