\nOver 350 million years ago, dragonflies first started to zip around ponds, marshes, and other bodies of water.\n
This prehistoric insect belongs to the Odonata family, along with their closely related cousin-insects, damselflies.\n
There are over 3,000 known dragonfly species living on nearly every continent in the world.\n
Here we\u2019re going to explore 15 awesome facts about dragonflies that you probably didn’t know!\n
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The Odonata family of insects only has two main species, the dragonfly and damselfly.\n
Most people will confuse the two at first glance, as they are very similar in appearance as a whole.\n
The key to identifying them is in their wings. A dragonfly has four wings, while a damselfly only has two.\n
When a dragonfly rests, they spread their wings out horizontally, whereas damselflies tuck their wings in against their bodies.\n
Another indicator is their eyes. All damselflies\u2019 eyes are separated, while most dragonflies\u2019 eyes are together.\n
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If you were to go back about 300 million years ago, you\u2019d likely come face to face with the ancestors of dragonflies, meganisoptera (sometimes referred to as griffinflies).\n
This long-extinct relation of the dragonfly lived from 323 million to 250 million years BC during the Paleozoic era.\n
The vast majority of griffinflies were a similar size to their modern cousins. However, one species called the megatypus would most likely scare the living daylight out of you if you were to encounter it.\n
The clue is in the name, as the megatypus grew to an alarming size, with a wingspan up to 28 inches (70cm)!\n
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Different species of dragonflies can be found in almost every corner of the world.\n
Most of them tend to stay within one select area, but there are a few which are a little more widespread.\n
The emperor anax, for example, can be found throughout the Americas, from the southernmost tip of Argentina all the way up to Newfoundland in Canada.\n
More impressive, though, is the globe skimmer dragonfly, which can be found in the warmer regions of every continent in the world, except Antarctica.\n
Some examples of such insects are grasshoppers, cicadas, and dragonflies.\n
Just like their mythological counterparts, dragonfly nymphs live underwater.\n
Although these reports aren\u2019t held to be true as the speed has not been recorded since 1917.\n
They can also free-glide, with some females gliding behind males while mating mid-flight!\n
Thanks to their speed and agility in flight, they catch their prey with their feet while airborne.\n
Their incredibly powerful jaws make short work of their prey, most commonly starting head first!\n
To put it simply, they fly in a certain direction to appear as if they aren\u2019t moving at all.\n
This is simply an illusion, though, as they are actually moving rapidly towards them.\n
While the west sees them as companions to witches, snakes, and even the devil, Japan sees them as creatures worthy of respect.\n
They are said to be symbols of courage, success, strength, and even happiness!\n
They can either migrate by themselves or in giant swarms.\n
Another impressive dragonfly species is the globe skimmer, which has been recorded to migrate up to 11,000 miles (17,702 km) between India and Africa.\n
As such, cold-blooded creatures need to attain heat from their environment. Dragonflies do this by basking in the sun, just like lizards, but this isn\u2019t their only trick.\n
This helps the dragonfly cool down a little by reducing the amount of sunlight hitting its body.\n
The more you learn about dragonflies, the more you begin to marvel at them!\n
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