Dragonfly order general characteristics and representatives

The dragonfly is an arthropod insect. As scientists have found out, they appeared on Earth about 350 million years ago. Since then, many different species have emerged, and scientists now know of approximately 6,600 species of dragonflies. Of these, 608 are fossils, so unfortunately they can no longer be found. They are superb predators and some of the most beautiful insects to exist on the planet.

Dragonfly larva and brief characteristics of the order

Dragonflies are a group of flying predatory insects. Representatives of this group of animals are distributed in the tropics, subtropics and areas with temperate climates. To date, about six thousand representatives of this order are known. These insects are characterized by an indirect mode of development, which includes a transitional stage (dragonfly larva) and an imago stage (adult). Both larvae and adults form the basis of the diet of some fish species. What are dragonflies?

What do adults look like?

Before the dragonfly larva is considered, it is necessary to learn more about the way of life of these insects. The adult is quite large, with a pronounced and mobile head. The organ of vision is the huge compound eyes, which occupy the entire upper part of the head. The insect's body is elongated and consists of a thoracic and abdominal part. The dragonfly's limbs are not very well developed, but they have bristles arranged in rows that act as a hunting basket, making it possible to hunt in flight.

Representatives of this group have two pairs of wings, which are almost the same size and actively participate in flight.

What do dragonflies eat? As already mentioned, these are predatory insects. Smaller species become their prey. Mostly these are midges, mosquitoes and other insect pests. The dragonfly itself usually becomes food for fish.

Reproduction and development of dragonflies

These insects mate in flight. On the abdomen you can see developed copulatory organs - in this way it is easy to distinguish a male from a female. Another interesting feature is that the male removes foreign sperm from the female’s copulatory apparatus before placing his own there. This phenomenon has no analogues in the wild.

The female then lays fertilized eggs. As a rule, oviposition is carried out either in water or on aquatic plants and much less often in moist soil. From each egg a dragonfly larva emerges.

The larvae of these insects live in water. Their body is olive-brown in color. They breathe using rectal gills and through the integument of the body. These creatures are inactive, but the way they move is worthy of attention. First, a portion of water is sucked through the anus, which is then sprayed out from there under high pressure. The recoil force pushes the insect in the opposite direction. In addition, the dragonfly larva can swim using gill plates, which perfectly replace fins.

Another feature of the larva is the presence of a so-called mask, which is represented by an overgrown lower lip. The mask plays the role of a grasping apparatus. Insects at this stage of development do not actively hunt - most of the time they sit on the bottom or attach themselves to an aquatic plant, waiting for prey, which they then grab, quickly throwing the mask forward.

The dragonfly larva feeds mainly on daphnia, mosquito larvae and other insects. Before the last molt, the insect climbs ashore and attaches itself to a plant. It is here that the larva transforms into an adult form - an adult.

It is worth noting that dragonflies are a fairly common group of insects. The order is further divided into two main suborders:

1. Homoptera dragonflies. Representatives of this order have pairs of wings of equal size. Thanks to this structure, insects are characterized by a soft, fluttering flight. The larvae of such dragonflies live in flowing or stagnant bodies of water.
2. Varied dragonflies. These insects have two pairs of large, almost transparent wings. In a calm state, their wings are placed perpendicular to the abdomen. It is worth noting that representatives of this group are considered one of the fastest insects. The larvae live either in a pond or in a swamp.

Interestingly, experienced fishermen quite often and successfully use these insects as bait.

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It is very typical for the entire order of spiders to replace the primary copulatory organs absent in males with peculiarly modified pedipalps, or gonopalps, as V. Dogel (1940) calls them. Among arachnids, similar sperm transfer organs are present only in Ricinulei (on the third pair of legs), and in general are very rare (for example, the hectocotylated tentacle of Cephalopoda males).

The copulatory organs reach full development only after the last molt of the male; Before this, there are no particularly significant differences in the pedipalps of the male and female.

Life activity of dragonflies

Dragonflies live on lawns, fields, and near bodies of water in different countries with temperate climates. Insects lead an active lifestyle, flying over considerable distances.

When landing, a dragonfly always spreads its wings, unlike many insects. Insects prefer to hunt alone during the day.

The dragonfly silently creeps up to the victim and captures it, folding its legs into a “basket”. These arthropods easily dodge dangerous predators in the air, thanks to the special structure of their eyes and considerable flight speed.

Features of dragonflies

The structure of these organs is most clear in some Haplogynae, for example in Segestria (Fig. 83) and Scytodes. Proximally, on the tarsal segment of the pedipalp, a large pear-shaped appendage (bulbus genitalis), elongated into a thin spout (embolus), develops.

At the end of the spout lies a small hole leading into a long, spirally coiled, chitin-lined sperm reservoir, or spermophore. During mating, the embolus is inserted into the female's seminal receptacle.

The proximal position of the bulb appears to be secondary. In many other primitive spiders (Aviculariidae, Hypochilusy Oonopidae, etc.), the copulatory apparatus is almost as simple, but the bulb is located subterminal or even completely terminal. In Hypochilus it is partially immersed, while in Filistata it is entirely immersed in the invagination at the end of the tarsal segment.

With the complication of the copulatory apparatus (Fig. 84), a second appendage develops next to the embolus - the conductor, which serves as a vagina or sheath for the embolus and facilitates the introduction of the latter into the copulatory opening of the female (Atypus, Caponia, etc.).

The base of the bulbus, already in Segestria and Scytodes, is movably articulated with the tarsus by means of an articular membrane.

Growing strongly in Aviculariidae, Atypus and other forms, the latter acquires the ability to swell with blood. In Entelegynae, the articular membrane turns into a special sac-like organ - a blood receptacle, or haematodocha, which folds at rest, but at the moment of mating it expands, swelling like a bubble under blood pressure.

The blood receptacle is located in a deep hole (alveolus) on the surface of the tarsus, which is called the boat (cymbium). Sometimes the tarsus is shortened to the size of a small scale (Nephila). Often in Entelegynae the copulatory apparatus reaches extraordinary complexity. One of its significant changes is the spiral twisting of the inflated blood receptacle and the bulb itself. The spermophore, which already in Segestria has a spiral course, here is strongly elongated and twists repeatedly; in addition, its individual sections can be differentiated in the form of special glandular organs (Linyphiidae).

Complications in the chitinized parts of the apparatus are also significant, and most importantly, very diverse and serve in taxonomy as an excellent criterion for distinguishing species. The bulb can take various shapes and become very complicated due to the formation of special sclerites or membranous parts on it.

The first are represented by the so-called retinacula (hetinacula) - chitinous appendages of various shapes that serve to attach the bulb to the female copulatory organs during mating. The second, called hematodochulae, are membranous areas that are functionally similar to a blood receptacle and can, like it, swell when filled with blood.

Quite often the embolus becomes more complicated. In Entelegynae, it forms a sharply isolated chitinized appendage and often turns into a flexible, spirally twisted hollow thread, the length of which can exceed the length of the body (Delena, Isopoda - from Sparassidae, Hyptiotes - from Uloboridae, Tegenaria - from Agelenidae and Labulla - from Linyphiidae).

In parallel with the embolus, the conductor is lengthened and usually twisted. From a simple embolus case, it turns into a special targeting device. Twisting of the embolus and conductor occurs in one direction (Isopoda) or in different directions (Dictyna, Tegenaria ferruginea).

Sometimes the entire copulatory apparatus reaches a very significant size. Thus, in Theridiosoma and in some related genera of Araneidae, the bulbus is the same size as the entire cephalothorax.

Finally, often (Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, Linyphiidae) a special outgrowth also develops on the tarsus - paracymbium, which serves for attachment during mating; sometimes attachment hooks even develop on the tibia and femur of the pedipalp.

The male copulatory apparatus of Pholcidae stands apart.

In simpler cases (Ninetis, Modismus, etc.) the bulb has a simple pear-shaped shape, but in other genera it is very complex. Thus, in Pholcus phalangoides, in addition to the embolus, the bulb bears two more outgrowths. One of them, the uncus, is covered with peculiar scales, the other, the T-shaped appendix, is heavily chitinized. The tarsus also forms a distal outgrowth called procursus, which carries a soft membrane stretched between the teeth, which swells at the moment of mating.

In the question of the phylogenetic development of the male copulatory apparatus, decisive importance belongs to observations of its formation in ontogenesis.

As Burrows (1925) and Harm (1931, 1934) showed, in the ontogeny of Segestria and Salticidae the bulbus develops from the pretarsal segment, and the embolus from the claw. Accordingly, in Mugalomorphae (Eurypelma), the tendons of two muscles are attached to the base of the copulatory organ, in which it is easy to recognize the usual levator of the claw segment, attached, as in the unmodified pedipalp, in the tarsal segment, and the depressor, lying, as usual, in the tibia (Snodgrass, 1952). Obviously, the most primitive types of the copulatory apparatus should be sought in those spiders in which it is located terminally, such as, for example, Aviculariidae, Hypochilus, Filistata, Oonopidae (Comstock, 1913; Berland, 1932).

In Lipistius, on the contrary, the position of the apparatus is secondarily changed, and its high specialization indicates a special path of evolution of this genus.

In general, three types of copulatory apparatus are distinguished: a simple type Segestria, a complicated type characteristic of most Entelegynae and others, and a special type characteristic of Pholcidae. The first two represent successive stages of development; the formation path of the third type was probably special and independent.

There are 5,000 species of dragonflies in the world.

What do dragonflies look like?

Connoisseurs of beauty and creative people see in the dragonfly its lightness and grace, and secondarily they notice the large wide head, long thin body and wings growing behind the limbs. It is not surprising that in medieval Europe people associated the image of an insect with scales on which the devil weighs human souls.

For the most part, dragonflies are large insects, but the body size of different species varies greatly. For example, one of the smallest is considered to be a representative of the family of true dragonflies - Nannophya pygmaea, living in Asia. Its dimensions are only 1.5 cm, and its wingspan is about 2 cm.

The largest modern dragonfly is Megaloprepus caerulatus from the arrow family, it can be found in Central and South America. The size of the males of the species reaches 10 cm, and the wingspan is 19 cm. Among the largest dragonflies in Russia, the Emperor Watcher is noted, growing up to 8 cm in length.

Interestingly, dragonflies exhibit a wide variety of types of sexual dimorphism. There are species where the males are noticeably larger than the females, for example, in representatives of the beauties family, but in the shooters, on the contrary, the females are larger than the males. However, the body color of insects is considered to be the main sign of species difference between the sexes.

The dragonfly's body is composed of three sections: head, thorax and abdomen, which are covered with a durable exoskeleton, like all arthropods.

Abdominal

About 90% of the dragonfly's body length falls on the abdomen, which is usually thin with a round cross-section; in some species it is wider and flattened. The abdomen consists of 10 developed segments, consisting of upper and lower chitinous semirings - tergites and sternites, connected by pleural membranes.

The genital opening of females is located on the sternum of segment 7. The vas deferens of males is located on the 9th segment of the abdomen, and the penis is located much higher, on the 2nd segment. Therefore, before mating, males are forced to bend their abdomen, pumping sperm to the copulatory organ.

Along the edges of the penis and bladder grow special appendages - genital hooks, with which males hold females during the mating process. In general, the reproductive system of dragonflies has no analogues, and therefore plays an important role in the taxonomy of species.

Thoracic region

These insects have a well-developed, laterally compressed chest with a sloping dorsal part, which is also a distinctive feature of dragonflies. One pair of limbs is attached to each section, which are called the prothorax, midthorax, and metathorax, and the distance between the middle and posterior pairs is less than between the middle and anterior ones.

The thighs and tibiae on the sides are covered with two or three rows of spines of varying lengths and thickness, which was taken into account when compiling the classification of dragonflies.

A pair of wings are attached to the middle and posterior sections of the thorax from above. Homoptera and representatives of the suborder Anisozygoptera have wings of the same shape and with a similar venation pattern. In heteroptera dragonflies, the hind pair of wings is wider at the base.

The thin wings of these insects consist of 2 layers of chitin, penetrated by a network of small and large veins that form a dense, intricate pattern. Large veins are filled with tissue fluid - hemolymph, which replaces blood in insects.

On the wings of most dragonflies there are fundamentally important elements - pterostigmas, characteristic of many insects, for example, bees and ants. This is a small compaction near the upper edge of the wing, a kind of weight that makes the top heavier and increases the wingspan. However, some dragonflies lack pterostigma.

Dragonfly wings are also characterized by a knot - a short thick vein that promotes twisting of the wing in the longitudinal plane.

Modern dragonflies are unable to fold their wings or change their shape. However, they can move their wings autonomously. When a dragonfly sits, its wings remain spread apart and may be lowered or pressed against each other.

The anterior chest of insects is connected to the head by a movable joint.

Dragonfly head

The dragonfly has a large, wide, very mobile head that rotates 180°. Dragonflies have faceted eyes and are so large that they can be seen with the naked eye. In homoptera dragonflies, the eyes are set on the sides of the head. The eyes of heteroptera are located closer to the forehead.

The compound eyes of dragonflies consist of a huge number of structural units - ommatidia (up to 28 thousand), performing different functions. The lower rows serve to perceive colors, the upper rows react to the movement of objects.

Macro photo: dragonfly eyes.

There are three simple ocelli on the well-swollen parietal part. They can be located in the shape of an equilateral triangle, they can be extended in a straight line or planted along the edges of the crown.

In front of the parietal region there is a narrow forehead and clypeus. The upper lip of a dragonfly is a short semicircular plate, the lower lip is much larger than the upper, and is represented by 3 blades.

Hidden inside is a powerful gnawing-type mouthparts. The chewing function is performed by paired upper and lower jaws, equipped with sharp teeth.

The antennae of dragonflies are very small, barely noticeable, made up of 4-7 segments. The tactile function is also performed by the palps located on the lower jaws.

Graceful hunter - dragonfly

These are the largest flying insects. All of them are divided into heteroptera and homoptera. Different-winged dragonflies are larger in size than even-winged dragonflies, and besides, they fly better.

The insect's body consists of a head, chest and long abdomen, at the end of which there is a pair of forceps. Body length 3 - 12 cm. Color varied: white and green, yellow and red, blue and orange.

Graceful transparent wings are its decoration. There are many transverse and longitudinal veins on the wings, which have a strengthening function. A dark spot on the wing protects the fly from vibration in flight.

Agile flyers develop colossal speed; some species can cover distances at speeds of 100 km/h.

Basically, the flight speed of the “jumper” is 5 km/h. They cover hundreds of kilometers without stopping, and can expertly hover in the air and suddenly stop. When she sits on a branch or any solid ground, her wings do not fold, they are always in a straightened state.

Each individual has three pairs of legs covered with shields. In flight, they fold their limbs into a basket - this makes it more convenient to grab prey.

Their mouthparts are of the gnawing type. The lower lip is a harpoon, shoots and grabs prey. Large eyes help track prey and can see anything edible at a distance of 10 meters. The structure of the eyes is complex - faceted.

All dragonflies are predators. They feed mainly on mosquitoes, flies, moths and other insects, which they pursue with great speed.

Dragonflies live in Europe, Asia, America, Australia, and Africa.

They can be found in meadows, forest edges, fields, but there must be a body of water nearby. They lead a solitary lifestyle. Enemies - many birds, spiders.

When courting a female, the male performs a mating flight, at the same time driving away other contenders. Soon the female will lay about 200 eggs in fresh water, either in wood or on various parts of the plant. The development of an insect consists of three stages: egg - larva (naiad) - adult.

The larvae are inactive and spend their development in the fresh waters of the reservoir. In some species, development can last 5 years. Larvae with huge eyes They are ferocious and voracious predators, they can even eat their relatives.

They wait for hours for their prey to hide, and as soon as it appears in sight, they immediately attack it. They feed on aquatic insects and their larvae and fry. Having lived in the reservoir for the required period of time and shed several times, the naiads climb out of the water along the stems of aquatic plants.

Having dried, they molt for the last time, and a beauty with wings is born. A few more moments and she will fly into the sky.

Despite their predatory lifestyle, insect larvae are often easy prey for other natural inhabitants, such as fish. Out of one hundred eggs, only three individuals survive to the adult stage. Adults live for about a month and then die.

In the wild, dragonflies live for 7 years.

The fauna that surrounds humans is rich and diverse. Knowledge about some creatures will help us understand and realize what is around each of us. This article discusses orders of insects: dragonflies, lice, beetles, bedbugs, which are most often encountered in people's lives.

Classification of modern dragonflies

The unique features of morphology and behavior did not allow dragonflies to be combined with other insects and they were separated into a separate order Odonata.

It is worth noting that dragonflies also belong to the infraclass of ancient winged insects, that is, insects that are not able to fold their wings behind their abdomen. It is interesting that in the entomofauna of the planet, in addition to dragonflies, only mayflies have this feature.

The order Odonata includes 3 suborders:

• Anisoptera or heteroptera dragonflies, in which the rear pair of wings is wider than the front at the base;
• Zygoptera or homoptera dragonflies have wings of exactly the same shape and size;
• Anisozygoptera is an extremely small suborder of dragonflies preserved from the Mesozoic era (251 - 68 million years ago), including only 4 species. Their representatives have characteristics of two main suborders.

Suborders of dragonflies form dozens of superfamilies and families. The most famous families of Homoptera are the lutes, beauties, pseudocrests, flatfoots and arrows. Among the representatives of heteroptera, the most studied are club-bellies, true dragonflies, grandmas, grandfathers and rockers.

Dragonfly families include genera and many species with similar morphology and some individual characteristics.

Dragonfly in flight.

General characteristics of dragonflies

General characteristics help to understand what each unit is.
Dragonflies are the largest flying insects on Earth. They are predators. The order of dragonflies includes suborders: heteroptera and homoptera.

Like the dragonfly, the louse's characteristics are quite simple.

These insects are blood-sucking parasites. They belong to the order of lice eaters. The general characteristics of lice do not form any suborders. By parasitizing on humans, they cause lice, or lice are scientifically the causative agents of pediculosis. Beetles are the most numerous inhabitants in the world. There are about 300 thousand species of them. All of them form the order Coleoptera. Bedbugs are numerous representatives of the order Hemiptera.

How long does a dragonfly live?

The dragonfly may seem to live a long time. But this is far from true. How long does a dragonfly actually live? Of course, each species of these insects has its own characteristics and its own lifespan. But as we managed to find out, dragonflies live from 1 to 1.5 months.

Variety of dragonflies

Today, more than 6 thousand species of dragonflies are known.
They are distinguished by their color, which can be very different, and their size, which can be from 3 to 12 centimeters. There are several thousand species of lice. But among this huge variety of lice, only three types are dangerous for humans: head, body and pubic. They differ in their habitat.

The entire variety of beetles can be divided into 6 families: predators, weevils, longhorned beetles, leaf beetles, ground beetles and lamellar beetles.

The variety of bedbugs is very large. The most famous of them are house bugs that feed on human blood.

How does a dragonfly feed?

The dragonfly hunts small insects in the air using its serrated jaws. The dragonfly waits for a large prey on the ground, when the prey approaches, it catches it with its paws and quickly eats it.

The dragonfly is unusually voracious; every day it has to catch prey for food that far exceeds its own weight.

For one day, a dragonfly will need about a hundred different insects to eat.

Appearance of a dragonfly

Most often, we distinguish representatives of the animal world by their appearance.
Dragonflies have a long and thin body, which is connected to a small round head by the thorax. On the body there are 3 pairs of legs, as well as 2 pairs of long transparent wings, which can have the same shape in homoptera dragonflies and different shapes in heteroptera. Large eyes and antennae are clearly visible on the head.

Lice are small insects whose size does not exceed 5 mm. Their body is slightly flattened and brown in color. The biology of the louse implies the presence of three pairs of single-jointed legs and a small head. Initially, lice had wings that were quite developed. But with a parasitic lifestyle, they lost their functions and decreased in size.

The appearance of beetles can be very different.

They come in different colors. Their sizes vary from a few millimeters to 15 centimeters.

All beetles have a large elongated body, a small head, a three-segmented thorax, and 3 pairs of five-segmented legs extending from the body.

Bed bugs can also be found in nature in different sizes and colors.

Their body is generally round in shape and their head is small.

Groups of dragonflies

Scientists have found and described more than 6 thousand species of dragonflies. They are divided into two large groups:

1. Various dragonflies - the suborder includes about 3 thousand species, including the common dragonfly. A characteristic feature is that the wings are placed perpendicular to the axis of the body during rest. The front pair of wings is larger than the back. This group includes the fastest predators, with a record speed of up to 100 km/h. Nymphs live in stagnant water.
2. Homoptera dragonflies - a group of insects with equal sizes of front and rear wings. Their flight is smooth and measured. At rest, the wings are folded like a roof over the abdomen. The larvae live in standing and flowing water bodies.

The common dragonfly belongs to the family of true dragonflies. Its representatives are small in size (3-5 cm). They are found everywhere except Antarctica.

Structural features

The same parts of the body can perform completely different functions in different animals. They depend on the animal’s lifestyle and environmental conditions.

Structural features of dragonflies

The eyes of dragonflies have a complex structure.
Their good vision is due to the fact that their upper part recognizes the shape of objects, and the lower part recognizes colors. To ensure the strength of the wings, veins are located along their entire length, and at the end you can see dark spots that reduce vibration during flight, thereby preventing wing fracture.

Dragonflies can make various beats of their hind and front wings for balance and synchronized ones for speeds that can reach 50 km/h. The lower lip is well developed and very long. It allows you to deftly grab prey. To hunt, the dragonfly compresses its legs while flying.

Features of the structure of lice

Lice have a sucking type oral apparatus, represented by two tubes: one for piercing the skin, and the second for sucking blood.
Another feature of the structure of lice is that during a puncture, a substance is released that stops blood clotting. The structure of the eyes is simple.

They may be completely absent. This suggests that lice do not use vision to move; their sense of smell helps them in this. This structure of lice is determined by their parasitic lifestyle.

Structural features of beetles

The main feature of beetles is their wings. They are double: the upper pair hardened during evolution and formed a chitinous shell, while the lower pair remained transparent and veiny.

This structure protects the beetle's body. They have a chewing-gnawing mouthparts.

Features of the structure of bedbugs

Bedbugs have glands on their chests that secrete an odorous enzyme. It is unpleasant to humans and resembles the smell of almonds. It serves to scare away enemies.

Structure of a dragonfly

The dragonfly is very recognizable. Its special feature, by which almost any person recognizes it, is its very narrow, elongated abdomen and graceful wings.

The abdominal part is divided into 11 segments. Each of which in turn is divided into two half-segments. The ternite is the upper half-ring, and the sternite is the lower half-segment. Often the abdomen has a bright, variegated coloring.

Males have special forceps on their abdomen that help them hold the female during the fertilization process.

One of the features of the dragonfly is its eye apparatus. It may seem that there are only 2 of them, but this is not so. Each eye apparatus is approximately 30,000 facets. Each facet is completely independent and works separately. The upper part of the eye sees the outlines of surrounding objects, the lower part distinguishes colors.

But that's not all. Dragonflies also have 3 more eyes. They are located on the parietal part of the head and thanks to them the predator can see behind and to the side. Because of this eye structure, dragonflies can see prey at a distance of 8 meters. But at the same time, dragonflies are absolutely deaf and blind.

Also, when describing dragonflies, we must not forget about the wings.

Previously, the wingspan of a dragonfly was about 90 cm. Now, of course, they are no longer so huge. Nowadays, the maximum size of these insects very rarely exceeds 10 cm in wingspan. But such a small size does not prevent them from hunting and getting food for themselves; on the contrary, the dragonfly is rightfully considered one of the best predators among insects.

Habitat

All animals settle in places where conditions are favorable for them.
Dragonflies live almost everywhere. But the main factor in their habitat is the humid climate. Therefore, you can find dragonflies near rivers and lakes. A wide variety of them live in tropical and subtropical climates.

The main habitat of lice is the hair of people and animals.

Many people wonder whether lice live in other places? Yes. They can settle, for example, on fabrics, such as body louse. Being parasitic on living beings, lice cannot settle under the skin.

Beetles live everywhere.

There are especially many of them in the tropical regions of the planet. You cannot find them in the Arctic and Antarctica. They live in small numbers on mountain tops. Bed bugs also live everywhere.

Some species can be found even beyond the Arctic Circle.

Description and features

Dragonflies are the most ancient and interesting creatures, whose distant ancestors, very similar to modern specimens in structure and appearance, lived on the planet more than three hundred million years ago, that is, during the Carboniferous period.

Since then, their descendants have undergone few progressive changes, and therefore are classified by modern scientists as primitive. But, despite this, these living creatures can rightfully be called unique.

This is manifested in everything: in the structure, in the way of feeding and hunting, in the peculiarities of life, in the tirelessness and speed of these creatures, as well as in their hidden capabilities, with which they still never cease to amaze researchers of the animal world of our grandiose planet.

Dragonfly is an insect belonging to the type of amphibionts, that is, living organisms that have successfully adapted to life in two environments: on land and in water, and therefore they are not found in countries with arid climates.

Many varieties of dragonflies (and there are more than six thousand species in total) carry out their life activities in the tropical regions of Asia and South America, where they are especially widespread in humid forests.

In addition, they live on continents such as Australia and Africa, and are found in Turkey, Iran, Italy and other countries of the Eurasian continent with similar climates.

About a hundred varieties of these organisms have taken root well and exist in Russian spaces. In fact, they have adapted to life on all continents except Antarctica. They are also not found in Greenland and Iceland. You can admire this creature and see its unique perfection in the photo of a dragonfly .

Characteristic features of their appearance include:

• a relatively large head, movably attached to the chest;
• chest, built from three components (front, intermediate, back);
• a thin long body of a streamlined shape, divided into 11 segments;
• chitinous transparent wings (two pairs);
• bright shiny elongated abdomen;
• hard hairy paws (six pieces).

The coloring of these insects can be the most colorful and original: stand out in blue, green, blue, yellow shades, shimmer with mother-of-pearl, have darkening and spots. In nature you can also find a white (transparent) dragonfly .

The structure of the visual organs of this insect is noteworthy. First of all, these include huge size, occupying three quarters of the head, compound eyes. They are built from thirty thousand elements (facets), each of which can be considered as a separate organ, functioning independently of the others.

The facets are placed in rows, some of which distinguish the volume and shape of objects, and the other part of them perceives color waves of a very different spectrum, including ultraviolet.

The crown of these creatures is equipped with three more simple additional eyes, arranged in a triangle. All organs of vision together allow the dragonfly to view the surrounding space in a circle at all 360° and distinguish the objects it needs at a distance of eight meters or more.

But with all this, the other sensory organs of dragonflies are not sufficiently developed. Their sense of smell is limited. There is no hearing at all, only the antennae located at the base of the wings pick up some sound vibrations.

These living organisms are combined into a whole order of insects . Dragonflies are also, in turn, divided into suborders. Among them, homoptera should be mentioned first. Distinctive features of representatives of this suborder are: small size; light, graceful build, elongated abdomen: the wings of both pairs are equal in size, folding at the back out of flight. The most interesting types include the following:

Nutrition

All representatives of the animal world can be predators, herbivores and omnivores.
Dragonflies are predatory animals. They feed on a variety of small insects, and their larvae can even eat fish fry. Lice feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals. This only happens when the lice life cycle reaches the adult stage.

Among the variety of beetles, you can find both predators that feed on small insects and herbivores that eat plants. Bedbugs can be predators, parasites, herbivores or omnivores.

Reproduction and lifespan

When instinct begins to encourage male dragonflies to reproduce their own kind, they unite with each other and form large flocks, rushing in search of partners. But first, they secrete a capsule with seed and carry it with them until they find a suitable female.

Driven by this goal, they explore territories located in close proximity to bodies of water, since the reproduction of these insects is directly related to such an element as water. But the process of copulation itself in these living organisms occurs in the air.

At the same time, males hold females with their claws, capturing their head. During intercourse, the couple is able to move through the air in a coupled state.

After fertilization, the female partner goes to water (rivers, streams, swamps, ditches, ponds), where she lays eggs, the number of which can reach up to six hundred. They are usually deposited on plants growing above and below water. After a few weeks, naiads (dragonfly larvae, also called nymphs) emerge from such clutches.

The naiad develops and grows in the water element, where it also finds food by hunting. The peculiar vision of the larvae allows them to see their victims only during moments of movement. When hunting, they shoot water at their prey. And in case of danger, the naiad is able to escape from the threat by developing a fairly high speed, which it achieves by pushing air out of the anus.

At the same time, the naiad constantly molts and grows, shedding its tight old skin. And the number of lines can reach up to one and a half dozen. In the final stage, the dragonfly turns into an adult insect. Her wings spread, and she continues her life in the air element.

The duration of feeding of the larvae depends on the amount of food in the immediate vicinity of it. He believes that in this state a dragonfly can live up to five years. True, this is only in exceptional cases, because for the most part the lifespan of such insects, even in all three stages of their existence, is very short.

However, it is directly dependent on the habitat and size of these creatures. On average it is no more than ten months. But the largest individuals, under favorable circumstances in the wild, are quite capable of successfully carrying out their life activities for seven or more years.

These creatures are very useful for humans. After all, they destroy blood-sucking insects in large numbers, pests of forests and agricultural land. In addition, the dragonfly is a pollinating insect , and works to help plants reproduce, along with bees and butterflies.

True, the larvae can cause significant harm. They compete with fry in food, which contributes to a reduction in their numbers.

Development

All living beings go through several stages of development during their lives.
Dragonflies have an incomplete development cycle. During their entire life, they go through 3 stages: egg, larva and imago (adult). They can develop over 5-7 years, and as adults they live no more than 1 month. The eggs are laid by the female mainly in water or on aquatic plants, less often in wood or soil.

The larvae that hatch from the eggs live in the water, feeding on insects and fry.

They already have large eyes and a long, developed lower lip for obtaining food. After several molts, they move to land, where they molt for the last time and turn into an adult dragonfly. Only a few go through the entire development cycle, since most larvae are eaten by predatory inhabitants of lakes and rivers.

The development cycle of lice is incomplete and is represented by three stages.

The type of development of lice and dragonflies is similar, since they have the following stages: egg, larva and adult. Lice eggs are called nits; they are firmly attached to the hair by the mother's secretions.

Under favorable conditions, a larva appears through the cap of the nit shell after some time. She soon grows into an adult. How long a louse lives depends on the favorable environmental conditions.

Beetles have a complete development cycle, consisting of eggs, larvae, pupa and adult.

Beetle eggs are predominantly light in color.

Larvae emerge from them, the body of which is covered with a chitinous shell. When they live outdoors, they are dark in color, and when they are closed, they are light in color.

All larvae are divided into 3 categories: campodeoid, erucoid, and wireworm. Pupation occurs on land. The pupa does not have a chitinous shell. She is motionless and colorless.

The female bedbug lays her eggs in secluded places, from which the larvae hatch after a few days.

Outwardly, they are similar to adults, but are small in size. Shedding occurs every week. And after a month the larva turns into an adult.

Meaning for humans

Dragonflies and humans rarely have conflicts. Representatives of the Odonata family bring great benefits. They keep the number of blood-sucking insects – mosquitoes, gadflies, mosquitoes – under control. Adults destroy pests on land, and nymphs in water. Dragonflies are absolutely safe for people. They have stings and do not carry disease. Many species are sensitive to water conditions. They die when water bodies are polluted.

Human economic activities often threaten populations of certain dragonfly species. Representatives of Sympetrumvulgatum are safe for now. While near a pond, with sufficient patience and caution, you can wait until you come into close contact with a dragonfly. The insect will land on your hand.

Reproduction of dragonflies

The main feature of living beings is reproduction - the reproduction of their own kind, which can be different for each species.
Dragonflies reproduce sexually. Mating occurs directly during flight. To scare away other males, the male performs a ritual flight around the female.

Lice also reproduce sexually. After fertilization, the female, fed with blood, crawls through the hair, laying eggs along with secretions. Hardening after some time, it ensures strong attachment of the nit to the hair.

Next begins the life cycle of lice, which was mentioned earlier. Male beetles can fight for a female. Also, in order to find each other, the couple releases a smelling substance - a pheromone. The reproduction of bedbugs has the following feature: the female is fertilized without her desire, that is, by force.

Now everything has become known about lice and nits, dragonflies, beetles and bedbugs, their habitat, existence and nutrition. This knowledge will help us better understand the world around us.

Reproduction and life cycle of dragonflies

Young dragonflies feed intensively before puberty, and when they acquire adult coloration, they look for a partner for reproduction. Mating in some species can last several seconds, in others it lasts about 3 hours.

The mating process always takes place in the air. Male homoptera dragonflies grab females by the prothorax; heteroptera males hold their partners by the head.

Dragonflies are insects with incomplete metamorphosis, i.e. in their development they go through 3 stages: egg - larva (nymph) - imago.

Egg phase

The average dragonfly's fertility ranges from 250 to 500 eggs. Fertilized females can lay eggs in almost any body of water with standing or running water: lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, artificial reservoirs such as ditches and irrigation canals.

Small species of dragonflies use flooded burrows and voids in tree trunks abandoned by animals to lay eggs. Females of the subfamily Pseudostigmatinae can lay eggs in the water-filled cup-shaped leaves of bromeliads or place their offspring on epiphytes. Representatives of some species are able to develop in thermal springs and brackish waters.

Females of heteroptera dragonflies drop their eggs directly into the water or lay eggs on snags protruding above the surface. Homoptera and representatives of the rocker family place their clutches in a moist substrate or in the tissues of semi-aquatic vegetation, making cuts with the ovipositor. The former have round eggs, the latter have oblong eggs.

If the female lays eggs in the spring, the development of the larvae in the egg lasts 4-5 weeks. Eggs laid in the fall overwinter, and the larvae take up to 9 months to form. It takes about 3 weeks for the eggs of dragonflies that live in the tropics and some species of the temperate zone to develop. In one species of dragonfly living in China, ovoviviparity was noted.

Nymph phase

Depending on the species and climatic conditions, the dragonfly remains in the larval stage from 3 months to 5 years and undergoes from 7 to 11 molts during this time.

A prelarva, also called a prenymph, is selected from a mature egg; its size barely reaches 1 mm. The first molt of heteroptera dragonflies occurs seconds later. The homoptera prelarva molts within a few minutes.

Dragonfly larvae can be thick and short or elongated and graceful. Their heads are large and wide, like those of adults, although they lack mobility. A unique feature of the larvae is the so-called trapping mask - an extensible oral organ equipped with sharp teeth. Having noticed the prey, the nymph throws the device forward, the teeth stick into the victim and the mask is pulled back. Depending on the structure, masks are flat or helmet-shaped.

Dragonfly larvae lead a rather sedentary lifestyle, although, like adults, they are predators. Some bury themselves in the mud, others sit on algae and patiently wait for prey to appear. Mainly active nymphs are from the rocker family, which push water out of the rectum, moving in a reactive manner.

The diet of dragonfly nymphs is based on insect larvae that live or develop in water. These are mosquitoes, various beetles, stoneflies, mayflies, and water bugs. Often the prey is tadpoles and fry of small fish species.

Homoptera dragonflies in the larval stage consume various barnacles and copepods, such as daphnia and cyclops.

The nymphs grow and develop, with each new molt the wing rudiments become more pronounced, and the imago emerges from the last instar larva. Those who want to take picturesque photos of dragonflies can expect to see the insect all summer long.

The life of an imago lasts from several days to 2 months. Some species that overwinter in the adult stage live for about six months.

Dragonflies

Dragonflies are called “air pirates of the insect world.”

These are voracious and dexterous hunters. Dragonflies catch their prey in the air and often eat it without interrupting their flight.

Basic data:

Structure of a dragonfly

Depending on the structure of the body, two groups can be distinguished: large and fast representatives of the suborder Anisoptera (damselflies) and smaller, gentle and slow homoptera dragonflies (order Zygoptera).
On the head of the dragonfly you can see large jaws and huge eyes, each of which consists of approximately 25-30 thousand simple eyes. In unequal-winged dragonflies, the eyes occupy most of the surface of the head; they converge at the top and allow the insects to see almost everything around them. The eyes of homoptera dragonflies are smaller and farther apart, so their heads are shaped like a hammer. Homoptera dragonflies see as well as their mentioned relatives.

Some dragonflies can turn their heads, thus changing their viewing angle. The antennae of dragonflies are small and inconspicuous. The body of a dragonfly differs from the body of other groups of insects. It is beveled, so the lower part, from which the legs grow, is pushed forward, and the upper part with the wings is moved back. The first pair of wings grows out of the body higher than the second, and the first two pairs of legs are located immediately behind the head.

This arrangement of legs does not allow dragonflies to walk, however, thanks to this body structure, they can hold on to any base with their feet and successfully catch prey with them.

• Of the 4,700 species of dragonflies, fewer than 100 can be found in Europe.
• The larvae of large dragonflies escape from enemies in a special way - they forcefully push water out of the anus, and therefore the larva can quickly move forward with a quick push, like a jet engine.
• Dragonflies were one of the first forms of flying insects on our planet. They appeared more than 300,000,000 years ago. Fossils give us evidence that the wingspan of ancient dragonflies reached ninety centimeters.
• If a male dragonfly decides to mate with a recently fertilized female, he uses a special organ to remove the sperm of the previous partner and fertilize the female again.

The ancestors of modern dragonflies, which had a wingspan of up to ninety centimeters and a body length of up to thirty centimeters, existed already in the Carboniferous period. All dragonflies have the same body structure and a similar lifestyle.

Scientists distinguish two suborders - small homoptera and large heteroptera dragonflies.

When a young dragonfly first takes to the air, it still looks rather modest, as if its metamorphosis is not complete. Only after a few days or even weeks does it acquire the coloration of an adult. During this time, dragonflies stay away from water and return to it only with the onset of the mating season.

The males arrive here first. Males of almost all dragonflies are much brighter colored than females. Males of some species fight each other over territory. The winner sits on a place located on a hill, and from there attacks any male who dares to cross the boundaries of his territory.

When a male notices a female, he seeks to win her favor and prevent her from mating with other males. The secondary reproductive organs of the male are located on a specific projection of the third abdominal segment. The male deposits a spermatophore in a special hole located on the abdomen. Then he grabs the female by the neck with his claw-like appendages of the posterior end of the abdomen and drags her along in the air until she raises the posterior end of the abdomen towards the spermatophore. Dragonflies flying in pairs have the appearance of a ring.

Partners remain in this position for an hour or even longer. A fertilized female lays eggs either directly into the water, or into underwater or above-water parts of plants. Homoptera dragonflies usually lay their eggs directly on the water, while homopterans carefully place them on plants.

Life cycle of dragonflies

In temperate climates, dragonflies appear in the spring and die in late autumn.
Only some species live longer than a few months. But the winged individual is the last stage of a complex life cycle that can last several years. In the fall, before dying, the female dragonfly lays eggs on aquatic plants growing on a marshy bank or in the water.

In the spring, they hatch into embryonic larvae with an elongated body. They immediately moult and turn into naiads with well-developed limbs.

Naiads have no wings, are modestly colored, and live in water.

Their body consists of a head, often with large eyes, a chest with two pairs of paws and an abdomen, on which the respiratory organs are located. The respiration of dragonfly larvae is carried out due to oxygen dissolved in water.

In the larvae of homoptera dragonflies, the respiratory organs are leaf-shaped tracheal gills located at the posterior end of the abdomen. Naiads are the same predators as adult dragonflies.

They grow quickly and molt 9 to 15 times during development. Underwater, naiads can take up to 6 years to develop before becoming adults.

Dragonfly nutrition

What does a dragonfly eat? Since it is a predator, the dragonfly feeds on insects . It grabs small insects with the help of serrated jaws in flight, and large ones with the help of tenacious legs.

In order to hunt large prey, a dragonfly has to descend to the surface of the earth and wait for prey while sitting on a blade of grass or a twig.

If a dragonfly notices its prey directly in flight, it will masterfully repeat the flight path of its prey, after which it will approach it as close as possible and make a sharp leap in order to grab it with its paws.

The structure of the dragonfly's jaws allows it to easily absorb even large prey.

The dragonfly eats its prey unusually quickly, since it is a very voracious insect.

In one day, she needs to consume an amount of food that significantly exceeds her own weight, so her daily diet consists of several dozen flies, mosquitoes and other insects.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Blue Dragonfly

In our country, dragonflies live from late April to October. In warm and tropical countries, these insects live all year round. Dragonflies are diurnal insects. They are most active in sunny and warm weather.

In the morning, dragonflies try to bask in the sun, sitting on stones or pieces of wood. During the midday heat, they adopt a “glow” position, in which the luminous tip of the abdomen is directed towards the sun. This reduces the insect's body exposure to sunlight and helps avoid overheating.

Interesting fact: Dragonflies practically do not use their legs for movement; they are used only during takeoff and landing. The hind limbs are used to capture prey.

Dragonflies go hunting in the morning and evening. Some species are more active at dawn. During the daytime, dragonflies are busy procreating their species. At night, insects hide among thickets of foliage and grass. Mostly dragonflies live alone.

Interesting fact: Thanks to the structure of their wings, dragonflies can fly very quickly, make interesting turns in the air, and migrate long distances. Due to the fact that dragonflies are good at the art of flight, they are very difficult for predators to catch.

Where do dragonflies live?

The habitat of dragonflies is very extensive. They can be found in any region of the world where the weather is warm, there is water and a large supply of food. These insects are widespread in Russia and Belarus, Germany and France, Italy and Spain, and the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. Many species of dragonflies live in the Asian region: India and Pakistan, Thailand and Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iran, Turkey and China. The dragonfly also lives in the vastness of the African continent, Australia, North and South America.

The dragonfly is an insect that prefers a solitary lifestyle. It is active during the daytime, preferring sunny hours, and waits out unfavorable cloudy weather in shelters.

Natural enemies of dragonflies include many species of birds, fish and spiders.

Benefits of dragonflies

Dragonflies, both adults and larvae, are of great benefit. As mentioned earlier, they eat harmful insects. In some regions of Russia there are dragonflies that destroy horseflies and gadflies. There are more than 50 species of dragonflies in Russia.

And on the African continent there is a species of dragonfly that destroys tsetse flies, which are carriers of the terrible virus. It should also be noted that the dragonfly is a symbol of courage and fearlessness for the people of Japan. And many poets and writers mention dragonflies in their works. Very often, dragonflies inhabit areas where they do not exist, but where they are needed. It is best to import larvae. When they are released into rivers and lakes, they create their own microclimate and adapt better.

Subsequently, the hatched dragonflies behave at home. It also happens that dragonflies, at a moment of danger, behave in such a way that a person sees - this is a warning. For example, when there is a fire. Dragonflies are our friends. Even children who often catch and kill dragonflies should know this. And scientists, in turn, will reveal a couple of dozen more species to the world.

Interesting facts about dragonflies

• In addition to the normal spectrum, the eyes of a dragonfly are capable of perceiving ultraviolet light.
• The ancestors of modern dragonflies appeared on the planet long before the dominance of dinosaurs and were the first creatures to conquer the air.
• Without a sufficiently developed brain, these insects are able to calculate the flight trajectory of the prey with 95% accuracy.
• Entomologists have still not found an explanation for the mysterious flights of a huge cluster of dragonflies across ocean spaces. They make such trips every 6-7 years.
• In Japan, the dragonfly is considered the standard of military valor and courage.
• On the island of Shikoku there is a park called the “Dragonfly Kingdom”. Everything in it is dedicated to this insect. In addition to the variety of species that live here, the design of the fences surrounding the clearings and the railings of the bridges thrown over artificial ponds is made in the “dragonfly” style. In the park's shops you can buy literature dedicated to these insects and see paintings depicting them.

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Kinds

All dragonflies are divided into 3 subspecies:

• Homoptera - this includes the smallest insects with an elegant body and wings of equal length;
• heteroptera - in this category, the rear pair of wings has an expanded base, thanks to which they can develop high speed;
• anisozygoptera is a rather rare group living in Japan, Nepal and Tibet; representatives of this subspecies combine the characteristics of the previous two.

The most common species of dragonflies belonging to Homoptera are:

• beauties;
• arrows;
• Lutki;
• planipedes.

The suborder heteroptera includes:

• grandfathers;
• grandmothers;
• rocker arms;
• club-bellies;
• Flat bellies.

Flat-bellied

All dragonflies are amphibious, that is, at different stages of development they live in water and on land. In the aquatic environment, eggs develop and larvae, which are otherwise called naiads, grow; the life activity of adults takes place in the air and on land.

Variations of the drawing

The dragonfly (the drawing for children should be easy to do) is a fairly popular insect that often appears as characters in various animated series, children's fairy tales and fables. You can color the insect with paints (gouache, watercolor or oil), as well as colored pencils and felt-tip pens. The result depends on the characteristics of application and the structure of the material.

Colored pencils

You can draw and color a dragonfly with colored pencils. This option is suitable for young children, as the pencil is convenient to use and does not stain the surrounding area.

Stages of work:

The resulting drawing can be colored with colored pencils.

Stages of coloring the finished image:

1. Using a green pencil, color in the wings of the dragonfly. Do not press too hard on the lead to achieve a translucent effect.
2. Using a green felt-tip pen, pen or pencil (pressing harder on the rod), fill in the veins and upper edges of the wings.
3. Use a black pencil to paint over the dragonfly's eyes.
4. Color the head and body of the insect with a blue pencil. Do not press too hard on the stylus.
5. Using more active movements, paint every second element of the body, starting with the head.

You can choose the color scheme yourself.

Gouache

The dragonfly (the drawing for children is done in gouache) is a bright and memorable insect. You can meet it near water, as they are born in bodies of water.

You can draw a dragonfly as follows:

1. Draw a small circle on a piece of paper. To do this, you can use a compass or any round object of small diameter.
2. Add an elongated oval to the lower right part of the picture. The element acts as the thorax of the insect.

3. Attach a larger oval to the bottom of the oval. Sharpen the bottom part of the element. This part will form the insect's tail.

4. The middle element of the dragonfly will act as the base. Attach the wing to the right side. It should be similar in size to a tail. The wing should widen closer to the middle, and then smoothly narrow, turning into an oval.

5. Using a similar technology, form a wing on the opposite side.

6. Draw the lower one under the upper wing. It is more rounded and smooth. In this case, the points of contact should not affect the tail area.

7. On the opposite side, draw a similar wing.

8. In the upper part of the middle of the dragonfly's body, draw 2 curved lines - the legs of the insect. Using parallel lines, add volume to the drawing element.
9. Use semi-ovals to depict the dragonfly's eyes, located in the upper part of the part.

10. Draw the veins on the wings using zigzag lines. For convenience, you can draw a long line in the middle of the wing, and then short lines diverging on both sides. Divide the body into 3 parts using arched lines.

11. The tail is also divided into several parts using arched lines.

The finished drawing can be colored with paints, having previously outlined the details with a felt-tip pen or marker.

When working with gouache, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

• apply thin layers of paint so that the gouache does not crack after drying;
• for a rich image and long-term preservation of the painting, it is best to coat the finished drawing with varnish;
• Store the finished image at relative humidity, away from direct sunlight.

You will also need brushes for paint. It is better to have several types of brushes so that you can paint even the smallest details.

Painting a dragonfly is quite simple:

1. Using a palette or small piece of paper, mix green and red paint to create a swampy shade. Dilute the resulting mass with water to a creamy consistency.
2. Paint the wings of the dragonfly with the finished shade, applying the paint in a thin layer.
3. Paint the dragonfly's head with blue paint. Paint the first strip, located under the head, with a bluish tint. Paint the body so that the colors alternate with each other.
4. Mix black and white paint in small quantities, and then apply the mixture to the semi-ovals that form the insect's eyes. Paint the dragonfly's legs with black paint.
5. Use green color, using a thin brush, to paint the outline of the wings and the veins inside them.

Dry the finished image. If desired, you can color the surrounding area.

Watercolor

Dragonfly is a drawing for children, which is obtained in a more picturesque version if you use watercolors. Watercolors and pencils allow you to create a light effect, a variety of colors and transitions.

Stages of work:

1. Draw a circle on a piece of paper. To do this, use a compass or a small round object.
2. From the lower semi-oval, having determined the middle, draw an arcuate line with a bend to the right.
3. From the top of the circle, draw 2 curved lines, forming the antennae of a dragonfly. Outline the eyes of the insect using semi-ovals.
4. Attach an oval at the bottom of the head (the approximate size is equal to the size of the head), and bring the lower part into a long oblong tail.
5. Draw an oval shape inside the oval body.
6. From the previously drawn body, draw the wings. The upper wing resembles an elongated oval, the rear wing is smaller in size and identical in shape.
7. The lower wing is created by drawing a long arc and a curved line.
8. Draw the wings on the other side in the same way.
9. Draw curved veins inside each wing.

   
   Dragonfly drawing for children step by step, instructions.

10. The finished drawing can be colored.
11. Apply blue paint to a fluffy brush. Spread a translucent layer over the area of ​​the wings.
12. Using pink paint, using the same brush (rinse first), paint over the area of ​​the head and body.
13. Use watercolor pencils to draw on a dry surface. Using a blue pencil, draw the outlines of each wing, as well as the veins, using wide lines. Paint the dragonfly's eyes thickly.
14. Use a pink or red pencil to paint over the outlines of the body and head, carefully paint over the antennae and the element on the abdomen of the insect.
15. Using a thin brush, using a small amount of water, slightly blur the boundaries of the pencil lines. Do not blur the lines of veins and antennae.

The finished image can be left as is, or additional elements can be added around the insect.

To profile

You can draw a dragonfly not only “from above”, but also in profile. This option is quite simple, but it can also be used in the context of various images.

Stages of work:

1. On a blank sheet of paper, draw a medium-sized horizontal line, maybe slightly curved.
2. On the left side, draw a small circle by hand. Having retreated a small distance, add an oblong oval, the width of which is equal to 2 circles drawn earlier.
3. Connect the side of the wide oval with a smaller oval.

4. From the oval forming the chest of the insect, draw 2 inclined lines upward. They will become the basis for drawing the dragonfly's wings.
5. Visually divide the insect's head into 3 parts. Separate 2/3, starting from the left side, using a vertical line. From the resulting straight line, draw a semi-oval that follows the curves of the head.
6. Place the dragonfly's legs in a small space between the head and chest - as shown in the figure.
7. Draw the remaining line and add a rounded tip to form the insect's tail.

8. Draw an eye inside the head. It should be located on a vertical line.
9. Draw the wings in the form of arcuate lines.
10. Make the dragonfly's legs more voluminous, and also fill the empty area between the head and body of the insect.
11. Draw arched lines over the entire surface of the dragonfly’s body, add a thin tail.

12. Draw the far wing of the dragonfly, and also add veins across the entire surface.
13. Use an eraser to remove unnecessary elements.
14. Using a simple pencil, lightly darken the lower part of the insect.
15. You can add a few elements to the sheet.

16. Use a yellow pencil to paint over the wings of the dragonfly. Using markers or matching gel pens, draw the outline and veins inside the wings to create contrast.
17. Use a black pen or felt-tip pen to paint over the eye and legs of the insect.
18. Paint the selected area inside the head with a blue pencil. The space around is green.
19. Using this color scheme, paint the body and tail of the dragonfly.

Green, brown and blue pencil can be used to color the reeds and water in the background.

When working with colored pencils, it is recommended to adhere to the following recommendations:

• For convenience, you need to hold the pencil with 3 fingers;
• you need to fill the round elements with one movement. At the same time, do not lift your hand from the paper, carefully drawing a line;
• rectangular shapes are drawn with stops at the corners;
• You can also use various shading techniques to make the drawing textured;
• colored pencils can be layered on top of each other. This way you can achieve not only a more saturated shade, but also mixing several colors.

Using these recommendations, you can add color to any design.

What do you need to draw a dragonfly?

To draw a dragonfly, you will need the following set of tools:

• a simple pencil;
• white sheet of paper;
• ruler;
• eraser, sharpener.

You can also color the finished template with a simple pencil, watercolor or gouache, colored pencils or felt-tip pens.

When doing work, it is best to use several pencils with soft and hard leads. Soft pencils allow you to draw subtle lines that are convenient to use when preparing a template. Hard pencils are suitable for drawing details in a finished drawing, as well as for shading.

Types of dragonflies in Russia and the CIS countries

• Common dragonfly , also known as Sympetrum vulgatum.

The most common, as the name suggests, is the dragonfly. Its wingspan is up to 6 cm, the length of its abdomen is up to 3 cm.

The color of the abdomen is yellow-brown (females) or reddish (males). The species is widespread throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, and is also found even in Siberia and the Far East.

• Beauty girl, aka Calopteryx virgo.

Length 4.5 - 5 cm, wingspan about 7 cm. Males are characterized by a bluish-blue or green-blue body color with a metallic tint. Females boast a bronze-green body with transparent wings.

In some regions of Russia it is listed in the Red Book.

• Emperor Watcher, aka Anax imperator.

The largest dragonfly in terms of wingspan in the post-Soviet space. The wingspan of an adult is about 11 cm. The species is listed in the Red Book, as it is on the verge of extinction.

Moreover, it is steadily declining in Russia. The reason for this is the human impact on the environment (water pollution). In western Europe and northern Africa, the number of the species is much higher. Belongs to the rocker family.

• Bolton's Macebelly, also known as Cordulegaster boltonii.

The body length of this dragonfly reaches 9 cm. The wingspan is 10.5 cm.

Representatives of this species are distinguished by their black coloration with bright yellow stripes. The dragonfly's wings are transparent with black veins. Interestingly, the female drops her eggs into the pond while flying.

• The headstock is metallic, also known as Somatochlora metallica.

The body length of this heteropterous dragonfly species is from 4 to 5.5 cm.

The eyes are green, the body also has a green color with a metallic tint. The most numerous species in the CIS and Europe. There are yellow spots on the abdominal segments.

• Common Grandfather, also known as Gomphus vulgatissimus.

A multi-winged dragonfly from the family of grandfathers. The wingspan is up to 7 cm, the body length is 4.5 - 5 cm. At the end of the abdomen there is a club-shaped thickening. Widely distributed throughout Europe and Central Asia.

The development cycle has more than 10 stages, females throw eggs into the water in flight.

Several more types of dragonflies:

The southern arrow, also known as Coenagrion mercuriale. A relict species, in some regions it is under threat of extinction.

Dryad lute , also known as Lestes dryas. This small (wingspan 3 cm) dragonfly is also included in the Red Book.

The benefits and harms of dragonflies

Like many other insects, dragonflies cannot be called clearly beneficial or harmful. Their benefit is that adult individuals feed on insects, and therefore play a significant role in the regulation of certain types of blood-sucking insects (including such dangerous ones as horseflies or tsetse flies), pests of agricultural crops and forests. In addition, dragonflies participate in pollination. Flying from flower to flower, they carry pollen on their legs. Fish and crustaceans feed on the larvae of these insects. Fishermen often use them as bait.

Damage is caused mainly by dragonfly larvae. They eat the fry of some fish species or compete with them for food, which leads to a decrease in the population. In addition, the larvae are hosts for parasites, in particular helminths. Birds (including domestic birds) eating larvae can become infected with prostagonymosis. This is a serious disease that affects the bird's ability to lay eggs. Without timely, competent treatment, there is a high risk of death.

Natural enemies of dragonflies

Due to the fact that larvae and adult insects live in different environments, their enemies are also different. The danger for larvae is:

• predatory and omnivorous fish;
• birds living on shallows and near bodies of water (herons, waders, etc.);
• swimming beetles and their larvae;
• some species of water bugs.

Adult dragonflies are hunted by:

• orb-weaving spiders, tetragnathid spiders, hobo spiders;
• blackflies;
• birds (including bee-eater, white wagtail, gulls, ducks, swifts, woodpeckers).

Enemy of the dragonfly

In addition, dragonflies can become prey for carnivorous plants. Most often these are varieties of sundews growing in sphagnum and peat bogs. To date, no enemies of dragonflies have been found among mammals and reptiles.

Considering that adult insects are quite cautious, fly quickly and maneuver deftly in the air, it is not easy to catch them. A predator can eat a dragonfly only if it takes the insect by surprise, which does not happen often.

Origin of the species and description

Odonata or dragonflies are predatory insects belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, subclass of winged insects and order Dragonfly. This detachment was first described by Fabricius in 1793. Dragonflies are a very large order, which includes 6,650 species. Currently, 608 species are classified as extinct, and 5899 species of these insects inhabit our planet in modern times. The dragonfly order is divided into 3 suborders: heteroptera; Homoptera; anisozygoptera. Dragonflies are a very ancient group of insects. The first dragonflies inhabited the earth back in the Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era. These insects are descended from the giant dragonfly-like insects Meganeura. Meganeuras were large insects with a wingspan of up to 66 cm. These insects were considered the largest insects of ancient times. Meganeura later gave birth to the following groups of their descendants: Kennedyina and Ditaxineurina, these groups of insects lived in the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era. They were large; the wings of these insects were about 9 cm long. During rest, they folded under the abdomen of the insect. The insect also developed a trapping basket, used for grasping prey. During the Jurassic period, the following groups came: Lestomorpha and Libellulomorpha in these insects, the larvae developed in an aquatic environment and they had an improved flying apparatus. Insects of the Libellulida group inhabited Africa, South America and Australia in the Triassic period.

Meganeuras still lived in Eurasia at that time, but during the course of evolution their bodies and habits changed. In the Jurassic period, meganeurins reached the pinnacle of evolution and populated all of Eurasia. These insects had a “catching basket” and could use it to hunt during flight. Gas exchange in this group was carried out using the respiratory epithelium, but there were also lamellar gills, which changed over time, ceased to perform a gas exchange function and were replaced by internal gills. At the same time, the descendants of the family Calopterygoidea have evolved greatly from the original state. The wings of these insects narrowed, became stalked and the size of the wings became the same. In the Jurassic period, insects of the suborder Anisozygoptera become the most common; their numbers sharply decrease during the Cretaceous period, but this group remains widespread throughout the entire polygenic period. During this period, such species of dragonflies as Coenagrionidae, Lestidae and Libelluloidea, etc. almost disappear. The Cenozoic fauna is already inhabited by modern species of dragonflies. During the Neocene, the ethnofauna was no different from the modern one. The Zygoptera population declined sharply, but Coenagrionidae and Lestidae became the most common species.