Did You Know? Mountain Terrace is Home to Dragonflies

Our gardens and ponds provide a welcoming habitat for dragonflies, and on warm days these remarkable insects can sometimes be seen patrolling the water and surrounding gardens. Before we reveal what makes Mountain Terrace attractive to dragonflies, here are a few fascinating facts about these ancient and highly specialised insects.

Fast and agile fliers

Dragonflies are among the fastest flying insects in the world, with some species capable of reaching speeds of around 55 km/h (35 mph). Their four wings can operate independently, allowing them to hover, fly forwards and backwards, change direction rapidly and even fly straight up or down.

Their remarkable flight skills make them highly effective aerial hunters. In one well-known laboratory study, dragonflies successfully captured about 95% of the prey released into their enclosure. That impressive figure comes from a controlled experiment, so it shouldn't be interpreted as the success rate of every dragonfly in the wild.

Amazing eyes

A dragonfly's head is dominated by its enormous compound eyes. Each eye contains thousands of tiny visual units called ommatidia, allowing dragonflies to detect movement extremely effectively and giving them almost 360-degree vision. Some species have as many as 30,000 lenses or photoreceptor units in each eye.

This extraordinary visual system is one reason dragonflies are such successful aerial predators.

Colourful and beautifully built

Dragonflies have long, slender bodies and two pairs of transparent, intricately veined wings. Many species develop striking blue, green, red, yellow or metallic-looking colours, which can become more pronounced as the adult matures.

They vary considerably in size. The largest living dragonflies are found in tropical regions.

Most of their lives are spent underwater

This is perhaps the most surprising fact.

A dragonfly's life begins as an egg, followed by an aquatic larval stage, or nymph, and finally the familiar winged adult. There is no pupal stage as there is with butterflies.

The nymph lives underwater and is itself a formidable predator, feeding on aquatic insects and other small creatures. Depending on the species, this stage can last from a few months to several years. When fully developed, the nymph climbs out of the water, sheds its final larval skin and emerges as an adult dragonfly.

Adult dragonflies then return to water to reproduce, making ponds and other freshwater habitats particularly important to their life cycle.

Dragonflies at Mountain Terrace

So what makes Mountain Terrace attractive to dragonflies?

Our ponds, gardens and surrounding mature vegetation provide several of the features these insects need. Adult dragonflies may use the gardens and open areas around the pond for hunting, resting and finding mates, while suitable freshwater habitat can provide the conditions needed for their aquatic nymphs.

Some of the most common types that can be found in North Vancouver are the Darners (Blue-eyed Darner, Paddletail Darner, Black-tipped Darner, Common Green Darner) the Skimmers (Common Whitetail, Four-Spotted Skimmer, Cardinal Meadowhawk & Autum Meadowhawk & Blue Dasher) and the Emeralds and Cruisers (Western River Cruiser)

If you spot a dragonfly around the property, take a moment to watch it. Its sudden changes of direction and hovering may look effortless, but you're watching one of nature's most accomplished aerial hunters.

Have you photographed a dragonfly at Mountain Terrace? We'd love to see it. Send your photo to the website team, preferably with the date and location where you saw it. We may be able to identify the species and add it to a future Mountain Terrace wildlife feature.

Adrien Balazs

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