Dragonflies are fast-flying, four-winged insects with long bodies and enormous eyes. The adult dragonfly has the biggest eyes in the insect world and they are capable of detecting movement up to 15m away!

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Overview

Dragonfly © Karen Roe CC BY 2.0The order of insects to which dragonflies belong (Odonata) is divided into two sub-orders.
The first of these (Anisoptera) includes the large, fast-flying dragonflies while the second (Zygoptera) covers the smaller, slower-flying damselflies.

There are 6,500 named species of
dragonfly worldwide. In Britain and Ireland there are about 30 species of dragonfly and about 20 species of damselfly

Habitat: Wetlands, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, canals, bogs and ditches.

Lifespan: Over a year from egg stage.

Read More: Prehistoric Dragonflies

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