Quit Fearing Dragonflies. They Won’t Hurt You and Love to Take Out Mosquitoes.
While mosquitoes, wasps, and hornets may be the bane of your existence, not all flying insects are to be loathed or feared, including those majestic dragonflies you see buzzing about your garden.
There are more than 5,000 dragonfly species throughout every continent, per The Biophilia Foundation. Dragonflies and its similar-looking cousin, the damselfly, both belong to the order Odonata, which actually means “toothed one” in Greek, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Translation: They have some major chompers.
But unlike many other flying insects, dragonflies are not aggressive and don’t inherently attack people. The four-winged creature appeases its carnivorous appetite by preying on other flying insects that happen to be extremely annoying, including blood-sucking mosquitoes and pesky flies. Like most bugs, though, that doesn’t mean they won’t instinctively defend themselves if they feel threatened.
When do dragonflies bite people?
For the record: You shouldn’t be afraid of dragonflies. They don’t bite people by nature, even though they won’t hesitate if they’ve been captured or are being held.
While most dragonflies have a similar body construction—four wings, six legs, a heavy abdomen, and enormous eyes—what differs among species is their magnificent color and size. Dragonflies inherit a bodily armor cloaked in variations of blues, reds, greens, and yellows. As for their size? Depending on the species, a dragonfly can range from just under 1 inch to a whopping 6 inches. The bigger the dragonfly, the bigger its bite.
By using their mandibles, they will bite the hardest they can in an effort to escape your clutches, possibly leaving you with a slight nip. Only larger dragonflies will be able to break the skin.
Usually, dragonflies just keep their eyes on food. The cold-blooded insect entraps smaller prey by either catching it in its mouth or eating it in one fell swoop. In fact, one dragonfly can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in a day. If they’re after something a bit bigger, dragonflies will use their legs to entrap flying prey before shredding their wings, eliminating a means to escape. How? It all goes back to that large, intense mouth. They have serrated jaws that are used to saw off their prey’s wings.
Do dragonflies sting, too?
Dragonflies don’t sting people or prey because, well, they don’t have anything to sting with. The end of their tail might be confused as a stinger, but these claspers are actually used by the male during the mating process, according to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy (OVLC). Stinging humans? Not so much.
Bottom line: Dragonflies do more good than harm considering how many mosquitoes they eat and they’re beautiful to look at. As long as you leave them alone, they’re completely harmless.
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