The first fire damsels and emerald dragonflies show themselves again. At a suitable temperature, the larvae leave the water and the adult dragonflies emerge. Biologist Hero Moorlag has been fascinated by the colorful insects for years and talks about the special development and mating of dragonflies in a lecture.
The dragonflies include real dragonflies and damselflies. Damselflies are slimmer and smaller than true dragonflies but have a similar lifestyle. The reproduction is especially striking because of the heart-shaped mating wheel that the male and female form. Worldwide there are about 6300 species, of which about seventy in our country.
After mating, the dragonfly deposits her eggs in or near the water. One female produces hundreds to several thousand eggs. After a few weeks to a few months, the larvae hatch and continue their lives underwater. They prey on aquatic animals and, depending on the species, spend a year to almost five years in the water. In order to grow, the larva molts regularly.
As long as a dragonfly larva lives underwater, so short is the time it spends outside. “The species that emerge in spring all die within a few weeks. You no longer see spring species in August,” explains Moorlag. “In late summer you see very different species such as horse biter, glaziers, heath dragonflies and damselflies.”