The dragonfly, along with the closely related damselfly, belongs to an Order of insects called “Odonata”. Both Odonatas look similar. They have 4 wings, long, thin abdomens and 3 pairs of legs. There are several distinctive differences between a dragonfly and a damselfly. The damselfly flutters about. The dragonfly is a fast, strong flyer able to reach speeds up to 30 mph. The two eyes of most species of dragonfly will touch at the top of the head. The damselfly’s eyes are widespread. When he rests, the dragonfly holds his wings out proudly to each side as if showing off. The damselfly rests her wings by her side in a shy, demure fashion.

It is not true that a dragonfly lives for only 1 day. Actually the dragonfly can live from 6 months to about 4 years, depending on the species. Most of that time, however, is spent underwater in his larva stage. He starts as an egg deposited either on the water’s surface or the surface of plants nearby. The egg hatches and the larva appears. A dragonfly larva will eat almost anything that happens by, including, thank Heavens, mosquito larvae. He is a little bullet-shaped eating machine that stops occasionally to shed an outer layer. He is totally dependent on water and breathes through gills. During this time, he is a delicacy for fish and frogs.

When he is ready, the dragonfly larva will climb out of the water and attach himself to a reed. This is his final shedding when he will emerge, like a butterfly does, as an adult out of his casing. Once he is free of the casing he flies away for a while. During this period his colors will become most vibrant and he will not return to the pond until he is ready to mate.

We do not get the pleasure of watching this entertaining dare-devil at play until he returns to the pond to spend the last portion of his life reproducing. Then it is as if he is putting on an aerial show just for us. He will fly sideways, turn sharp, right angles, hover and fly backwards. He will swoop down and grab a mosquito snack and eat it while he flies. In fact, he will do most everything (except for rest) while he flies — including mating.

The answer is “Yes, they are mating”. Whenever you see two dragonflies flying “united” it is exactly what it appears to be. The male has already taken up to several days to stake out his territory and has probably mated with several females who have visited his “pad”.

The male dragonfly is somewhat of a jealous sport. If he finds the “left-behinds” of a previous mating on the female before she has laid those not-yet fertilized eggs he will dispose of it. He will grasp her by the neck and they will fly united for a period from a couple of seconds to over an hour! Sometimes he will not let her go until she has deposited his eggs on the water.

Most species of dragonflies prefer still waters on which to lay their eggs though some species have adapted to the running waters of streams and brooks. We can attract dragonflies easily to our backyard ponds by providing clean, fresh water. There are no special arrangements to make for them but it may take a season or two before we see a population form.

Contrary to what one may hear, odonatas DO NOT sting. They cannot hurt humans in any way. In fact, they are great backyard companions and desired in any pond — ornamental or natural. They are an important cog in the wetland wildlife wheel eating more than their fare share of flying insects such as mosquitoes while in their adult stage and mosquito larvae while they are in their larvae stage. The Burmese proved the effectiveness of using dragonfly larvae as a natural control over the Yellow Fever Mosquito by releasing the larvae of a local species of darter dragonfly into the waters at regular intervals.

The myths and legends of the dragonfly differ from East to West and many different cultures used dragonflies as symbols of both good and evil.

In China the dragonfly was not regarded highly, only as a symbol for summer and also for instability and feebleness. In Japan, however, the dragonfly is symbolic of success, victory, happiness, strength and courage. During the 11th century noble Japanese families used the dragonfly as ornamentation on everything from furnishings to textiles. The dragonfly was chosen as a part of the Samurai family crest. Japan was not always named Japan. Japanese legend has it that an Emperor was bitten by a horsefly which, in turn, was eaten by a dragonfly. The Emperor honored the dragonfly by naming what is now Japan “Akitsushima” which, during that time, translated to “Isle of the Dragonfly”.

The reputation of odonatas may have been tarnished a bit in 15th-century Europe when the insects were associated with snakes and the devil and actually feared to be dangerous. The English today call them “hos-stingers” and Australians call them “horse-stingers”. It is believed that these names came about because it appeared that dragonflies were swarming around horses who were kicking and jumping as they were being bit when, in reality, the dragonflies were feasting on other flying insects that truly were the ones biting the horses. The Italians believed that Satan sent dragonflies up from hell to cause mischief in the world.

Dragonfly myths and folklore spread from Europe to the Americas. The dragonfly was given the name of “Devil’s Darning Needle” because of an almost comical superstition about the dragonfly sewing the mouths shut of lying children, scolding women and cursing men as they slept. The Navaho Indians believe the dragonfly to be symbolic of water purity and reflect it in many of the textiles and jewelry they design. One of most delightful stories about the dragonfly is a Zuni myth about two children who were left behind by the villagers when the corn crop failed. The little boy constructed a toy dragonfly from corn husks to cheer up his sister. The dragonfly eventually came to life and appeased the corn maidens who created a bountiful harvest of corn to welcome the villagers back.

If any one creature of the pond is misunderstood it would be the dragonfly. I’ve become fascinated by the number of species we have at the store. They are practically everywhere but mostly hanging around the waterlily pond. Some of the colors are so spectacular (shocking electric blue, purple, black with white tips) that I wonder why it’s taken me so long to really notice them. Much of the information I have was researched from pages on the web. I found entire organizations dedicated to these beautiful creatures. If you would like more information on dragonflies here are a few good places to go: