Insect scales
Small weights called dragonflies in ancient times for their flight and the type of wings that spread horizontally in the air. Today the population of dragonflies is rapidly shrinking, it is connected with bad ecology, and climate change. Dragonflies are thermophilic, they need high temperature water and air for life and reproduction. They are demanding the flora of the area, prefer marshy and flooded meadows, where a lot of food.
Probably not, but the fact is that dragonfly can hunt the object significantly larger than themselves. Large specimens attacking even small frogs or young fish.
Dragonfly is a predator. It eats flying insects, the abundance of inhabit swamps and coastal rivers, lakes. Thanks to the huge eyes and wide angle to capture images, the insect may see the victim at a distance of 12 meters. The location of the last actually doesn't matter, because the dragonfly can fly backwards, and to see everything that is happening in her tail area.
Jaw dragonflies are relatively strong, and the teeth resemble a blade, so the mosquitoes and flies were captured dragonflies are killed almost instantly, being broken in half. On-the-fly dragonfly catches the victim with feet, the moveable bristles like lock her in a vise of his own body. Is in flight, the insect cannot. Therefore, lands with prey in the nearest large travino or sheet.
The main diet consists of dragonflies:
- mayflies,
- stoneflies,
- Trichoptera,
- lacewing,
- Lepidoptera.
However, a large share of power is still two-winged insects.
The power of the nymphs
Dragonfly reproduces with eggs, from which hatched nymphs. They are only underwater lifestyle for a year and a half, solely eating water fleas, tadpoles, larvae of other underwater creatures. The "baby" dragonflies are extremely greedy due to the fact that it consumes large amounts of energy, quickly, rapidly moving. In addition, larvae and nymphs change the skin 10-15 times in the course of life, and this is a huge waste of energy.
Unique nymphs live longer than dragonflies. The life cycle of dragonflies to 6 weeks, the nymphs is 5 years.
To hunt the nymphs of help not legs or the ability to swim erratically due to the release of water from the bull, as many think, a unique on – Guba, which is located under the "chin". Lip nymph literally grabs a small insect, and sends into his mouth.