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The Dragonfly Life Cycle

By Huy Nguyen on Apr 16, 2022

Dragonflies are typical summer’s creatures. In some cultures, they are considered a living “weather forecast”. Have you ever wonder how long these animals have existed on this Earth and how they have evolved through time? Let take a look closer at The Dragonfly Life Cycle with some interesting information below.

Dragonflies’ evolution

Dragonflies have been around for 300 million years. This made them one of the oldest species of insects in the world. Dragonflies have been grown so successful over the years. The only difference between modern and ancient dragonflies is their sizes.

Dragonflies’ Life Cycle

A dragonfly has a life span of more than a year. However, very little of that life is actually as an adult dragonfly. There are three stages of the dragonfly life cycle, the egg, the nymph, and the adult dragonfly.

For most of their life cycle, dragonflies live out in the nymph stage, and you can’t see them at all. The length of each stage depends on the species of dragonfly. Dragonflies in tropical regions typically spend less time in each stage than dragonflies in temperate regions.

Dragonflies’ Offspring season

A male and a female dragonfly will mate while they are flying in the air. After the two dragonflies mate, the female dragonfly will lay her eggs on a plant in the water. If she can’t find a suitable plant she will just drop them into the water.

The Dragonfly Life Cycle

Dragonflies’ nymphs and molts

After the dragonfly eggs hatch, the life cycle of a dragonfly larva begins as a nymph. A nymph looks like a little alien creature. It hasn’t grown its wings yet and has what looks like a crusty hump hanging onto its back.

Dragonfly nymphs live in the water while they grow and develop into molt dragonflies. This portion of the dragonfly life cycle can take up to four years to complete. If their cycles are completed at the beginning of the wintertime, they will remain in the water until spring, when the weather is warm enough for them to come out.

Dragonfly nymphs live in ponds or marshy areas because the waters are calmer than in a stream or river. Sometimes they can be found in the calmer backwaters of rivers, too. Dragonfly molts may eat other smaller nymphs when they grow up.

Adult dragonflies

Once the molt is fully grown, and the weather is perfect for it to go out, it will complete the metamorphosis into a dragonfly. They will crawl out of the water and climb up the plant. The nymph will shed its skin onto the stem of the plant. Then, they will be young dragonflies.

The skin that the nymph left behind is called the exuviae. Once the dragonfly leaves the exuviae, it will become a full-grown dragonfly. You can also easily find their exuviae stuck to the stem for a long time after the dragonfly left it.

The adult dragonfly will hunt for food and begin to look for a mate. Once they find their mates, the female will find a body of calm water that will be a good place to lay her eggs. The life cycle of the dragonfly begins all over again.

If you are interested in these amazing creatures, add a dragonfly pop up card in a box to your collection. With a lively dragonfly model, it will be a lovely pop up card birthday or a fascinating 3D educational simulation for kids to develop their imagination.

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