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75 dragonfly facts, all checked

Every fact on this site, in one place, each linked to its source. Figures that can change carry the date we checked them (31 Oct 2026).

Jump to: Dragonflies in general | Life cycle | Hunting, eyes and flight | Giants and tiddlers | The species | The Isle of Man

Dragonflies in general

  1. 1 Dragonflies and damselflies together are called Odonata, which means ‘toothed jaw’: their mouthparts are serrated. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  2. 2 Damselflies are the Zygoptera, meaning ‘pair-winged’ or ‘equal-winged’: all four wings are a similar size and shape. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  3. 3 True dragonflies are the Anisoptera, meaning ‘unequal-winged’: their hind wings are usually shorter and broader than their front wings. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  4. 4 Most damselflies rest with their wings folded back along the body, and their eyes are always separated. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  5. 5 Dragonflies rest with their wings held out from the body, and their big eyes usually touch, at least at one point. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  6. 6 Dragonflies don’t sting, and they don’t attack people. A big one held in the hand may try to bite, but it can’t break the skin. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  7. 7 The name ‘Dragon-fly’ was first used by Francis Bacon, in a book published in 1626. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  8. 8 Old English names for them include Adder Bolt, Snake Doctor, Horse-stinger and Devil’s Darning Needle. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  9. 9 There are around 6,000 species of dragonflies and damselflies in the world, and most live in the tropics. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters · checked 31 Oct 2026
  10. 10 56 species have been seen in the UK and Ireland. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters · checked 31 Oct 2026
  11. 11 46 of those 56 are residents or regular migrants; the rest are rare ‘vagrants’. Natural History Museum, London (news, Sept 2021): Dragonfly species are colonising the UK at a greater rate · checked 31 Oct 2026
  12. 12 Dragonflies do have antennae, but they are very tiny and hard to see. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  13. 13 Dragonflies can’t hear, so their eyes are vital. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters

Life cycle

  1. 14 A dragonfly’s life has three stages: egg, larva (also called a nymph) and adult. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  2. 15 Dragonflies have no pupa stage: unlike butterflies, they go straight from larva to adult. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  3. 16 When it is ready, the larva climbs up a plant stem out of the water to find a secure support. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  4. 17 A tiny tadpole-like prolarva comes out of the egg first. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  5. 18 Dragonflies spend most of their lives as larvae. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  6. 19 A female can lay hundreds of eggs. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  7. 20 All damselflies and hawkers push their eggs into plant stems or leaves, rotten wood or mud. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  8. 21 Chasers, skimmers and darters lay round eggs in a jelly-like blob, by dipping the tip of the tail into the water again and again. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  9. 22 Eggs hatch within 2 to 5 weeks, or for some kinds, the following spring. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  10. 23 The larva eats live prey and moults its skin a further 5 to 14 times as it grows. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  11. 24 Larvae usually take one or two years to grow, from just 2 to 3 months (emerald damselflies) to more than five years (golden-ringed dragonfly). British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  12. 25 A larva has a hinged jaw (the labium) that shoots out in an instant to catch prey. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  13. 26 Larvae have six legs, just like adults. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  14. 27 Larvae eat insect larvae, worms, snails, tadpoles and even small fish. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  15. 28 Damselfly larvae have little plates (lamellae) at the end of the abdomen that act as extra gills. Dragonfly larvae don’t have these. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  16. 29 Most kinds leave the water in the morning to become adults, but hawkers do it in the dark. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  17. 30 Turning into an adult takes between one hour (damselflies) and three hours (dragonflies). British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  18. 31 The cast skin left behind is called an exuvia. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  19. 32 Its first flight, the maiden flight, is weak and usually only a few metres long. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  20. 33 New adults are pale. They spend about a week feeding away from water while they gain their adult colours. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology
  21. 34 Newly emerged common blue damselflies are often pale pinkish-brown rather than sky-blue. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  22. 35 In Britain, even a lucky adult damselfly seldom lives more than two weeks, and a dragonfly more than two months. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  23. 36 From egg to the end of adult life, the whole life cycle takes at least about 6 months, and some big dragonflies take 6 or 7 years. Most of it is spent underwater as a larva. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  24. 37 While the female lays her eggs, some males stay linked to her ‘in tandem’ to guard her. British Dragonfly Society: Life cycle and biology

Hunting, eyes and flight

  1. 38 Dragonflies have up to a 97% hunting success rate. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  2. 39 For comparison, lions succeed about 25% of the time and African wild dog packs about 85%. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  3. 40 A dragonfly can have as many as 30,000 lenses in each eye. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  4. 41 Their huge eyes give them near-360° vision. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  5. 42 Their tiny brains can process about 200 images a second. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  6. 43 They ambush from behind and below, and use their long legs as a net. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  7. 44 Adults mainly eat other flying insects, especially midges and mosquitoes. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  8. 45 Hunters come in two kinds: perchers sit and wait, and hawkers patrol the air. Natural History Museum, London: Dragonflies, the ultimate hunters
  9. 46 The biggest hawkers can reach 10 to 15 metres a second, roughly 25 to 30 mph. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  10. 47 They can control each of their four wings independently, so they can hover and fly in any direction. Natural History Museum, London (news, June 2018): Dragonfly wings could inspire new aeroplane flight control
  11. 48 Migrant hawkers and four-spotted chasers sometimes gather in big swarms, usually where there is plenty of food. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  12. 49 Dragonflies have enemies too: birds such as wagtails and hobbies, spiders, frogs and bigger dragonflies. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions

Giants and tiddlers

  1. 50 In the UK, the biggest dragonflies are about 85 mm long with a wingspan of about 120 mm. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  2. 51 That size belongs to the larger hawkers, such as the emperor and the brown hawker. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  3. 52 The living dragonfly or damselfly with the biggest wingspan is a thin, long-bodied Central American damselfly, Megaloprepus coerulatus: about 19 cm. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  4. 53 Perhaps the smallest is the scarlet dwarf, Nannophya pygmaea, only 15 mm long. British Dragonfly Society: Frequently asked questions
  5. 54 300 million years ago, giant dragonfly-like insects called griffinflies had wingspans up to 71 cm. Natural History Museum, London: Giant dragonflies
  6. 55 They probably weighed 100 to 150 grams, about the same as a large apple. Natural History Museum, London: Giant dragonflies

The species

  1. 56 The emperor is Britain’s bulkiest dragonfly: 78 mm long, with an apple-green thorax. British Dragonfly Society: Emperor Dragonfly
  2. 57 Emperors rarely settle, and even eat their prey in flight. British Dragonfly Society: Emperor Dragonfly
  3. 58 Manx Wildlife Trust lists the Isle of Man in the emperor’s range. Manx Wildlife Trust: Emperor dragonfly · checked 31 Oct 2026
  4. 59 The golden-ringed dragonfly has yellow and black rings. Females are 84 mm long. British Dragonfly Society: Golden-ringed Dragonfly
  5. 60 The black darter is the only black dragonfly in the UK (the males are black). British Dragonfly Society: Black Darter
  6. 61 The common darter can be found well into November. British Dragonfly Society: Common Darter
  7. 62 The four-spotted chaser has two obvious dark spots on each wing. British Dragonfly Society: Four-spotted Chaser
  8. 63 The common hawker is 74 mm long and lives by moorland pools. British Dragonfly Society: Common Hawker
  9. 64 The brown hawker is a large brown hawker with golden-brown wings. British Dragonfly Society: Brown Hawker
  10. 65 The migrant hawker has a yellow mark shaped like a golf tee near the top of its abdomen. British Dragonfly Society: Migrant Hawker
  11. 66 The large red damselfly is the most common red damselfly. British Dragonfly Society: Large Red Damselfly
  12. 67 The male common blue damselfly has a mushroom-shaped mark below the wing base. British Dragonfly Society: Common Blue Damselfly
  13. 68 The male azure damselfly has a ‘U’-shaped mark below the base of the wings. British Dragonfly Society: Azure Damselfly
  14. 69 Female blue-tailed damselflies come in at least 5 colour forms. British Dragonfly Society: Blue-tailed Damselfly
  15. 70 Emerald damselflies rest with their wings half spread. British Dragonfly Society: Emerald Damselfly
  16. 71 The banded demoiselle is a large metallic damselfly with fluttering, butterfly-like wings. British Dragonfly Society: Banded Demoiselle

The Isle of Man

  1. 72 18 species of dragonfly and damselfly are currently recorded on the Isle of Man, and 11 of them are Manx residents. Manx Wildlife Trust: State of Nature 2024, terrestrial invertebrates · checked 31 Oct 2026
  2. 73 On the island they are found by ponds, gravel pits, upland bogs and plantation pools. Manx Wildlife Trust: State of Nature 2024, terrestrial invertebrates
  3. 74 Manx Wildlife Trust is most concerned for the upland species: black darter, emerald damselfly and common hawker. Manx Wildlife Trust: State of Nature 2024, terrestrial invertebrates · checked 31 Oct 2026
  4. 75 Thousands of Isle of Man dragonfly and damselfly records are shared on GBIF. The most-recorded are the common darter, blue-tailed damselfly and common blue damselfly. GBIF occurrence records: Odonata, Isle of Man · checked 31 Oct 2026