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The Dragonfly Life Cycle

1. There are many different kinds of dragonflies. The Common Darter dragonflies (right) are mating. The red coloured male clasps the female by the neck. She places the tip of her body against the male and her eggs are fertilised.

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2. After mating the female dragonfly lays her many eggs. Most dragonflies lay their eggs in water or mud.

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3. The larvae which hatch out from the eggs live in water. This may be for as long as 4 or 5 years. They go through a series of stages. Each stage is larger than the last.
The larvae are all carnivores. They feed on a range of small animals which live in the water. When the larvae are large they can even take small fish such as a Stickleback. They catch animals by shooting the whole of their hinged bottom jaw forwards. NEXT larva.jpg (8048 bytes)