Dragonfly nymphs are shorter and bulkier, and the gills are located inside the abdomen. The dragonfly nymph expands and contracts its abdomen to move water over its gills, and can squeeze the water out rapidly for a short burst of underwater jet propulsion.
Q. How do adult damselflies breathe?
They breathe through gills in their rectum, and can rapidly propel themselves by suddenly expelling water through the anus.
Table of Contents
- Q. How do adult damselflies breathe?
- Q. How do dragonfly nymphs breathe underwater?
- Q. Why do damselfly have gills?
- Q. Are damselflies rare?
- Q. How long do damselflies live for?
- Q. Do damselflies bite?
- Q. What month do damselflies hatch?
- Q. What is the lifespan of a mayfly?
- Q. What time of day do flies hatch?
- Q. Where do damselflies lay eggs?
- Q. Can damselflies walk?
Q. How do dragonfly nymphs breathe underwater?
Living hidden below the water surface, dragonfly larvae (also known as nymphs) remain unseen and mysterious. Let us now unveil their underwater secrets. All larvae are able to breathe by sucking water into their abdomens and through internal gills.
Q. Why do damselfly have gills?
They breathe by opening and closing the end of their abdomen taking water to the ‘rectal gills’ inside. The water can be sucked in and forced out quickly allowing the nymph to swim using jet propulsion over short distances. This is particularly useful for escaping danger.
Q. Are damselflies rare?
The Southern Damselfly is a rare species in the UK as it is living on the extreme north-western fringe of its European range. The range of the species has contracted in the last thirty years. Similar Species. Easily confused with the other members of the genus Coenagrion, such as Common Blue Damselfly.
Q. How long do damselflies live for?
The small damselflies live for a couple of weeks as free-flying adults. The larger dragonflies can live for 4 months in their flying stage. In Britain, lucky Damsel adults seldom manage more than two weeks and Dragons more than two months. Most Damsels rarely go more than a week, and Dragons two or three weeks.
Q. Do damselflies bite?
They do not sting or bite. Damselflies are related to Dragonflies. They are both beneficial in the same way – they are predators that eat other harmful insects and they keep populations of those other insects from getting too large.
Q. What month do damselflies hatch?
Eggs hatch either within 2–5 weeks or, in the case of the emerald damselflies and some hawkers and darters, the following spring.
Q. What is the lifespan of a mayfly?
Mayflies spend most of their lives in the water as nymphs and then emerge as adults for only a short while. Adults will live only a day or so, but the aquatic larvae lives for about a year. Their status is unknown. There are more than 600 species of mayfly in the United States and 3,000 worldwide.
Q. What time of day do flies hatch?
Early in the spring the best insect activity comes during the warmest part of the day. It slips into the evening as summer approaches, and that’s the time to catch most of the best hatches in June. After that some of the activity moves to dusk, overnight (especially for caddisflies), or around the clock to dawn.
Q. Where do damselflies lay eggs?
The life cycle of the dragonflies and damselflies is fascinating as they spend most of their life underwater. Eggs are laid in the water of ponds and rivers and after a few weeks or even months (depending on the species), the egg will hatch into a larvae or nymph.
Q. Can damselflies walk?
Like dragonflies, damselflies have cannot walk, but only land. Their life cycle is also similar. They have an exoskeleton and are often brilliantly coloured, but when they land on a bush, out of direct sunlight, they are not easy to see. They land and close their wings at the same instant.
