Dragonflies Are Incredibly Efficient Hunters

Dragonflies are incredibly efficient hunters.

Dragonflies are impeccable hunters, catching more than 95 percent of their targeted prey.
Scientists are studying them to gain an understanding of their amazing hunting abilities.

They have an immense appetite, according to a Harvard study by Doctor Stacey Combes, one dragonfly ate 30 flies in a row and would have kept eating.

Dragonflies can track their prey using their highly developed brain, eyes and wings.

They can anticipate the trajectory of their moving target and adjust their own flight path quickly to make sure the prey is caught.

Combes said: “Before I got into this work, I’d assumed it was an active chase…But it’s more like ambush predation. The dragonfly comes from behind and below, and the prey doesn’t know what’s coming.”

Although most flying insects are disliked by humans, the dragonfly is different.

They eat pesky mosquitoes, and some can eat hundreds of mosquitoes a day.

Dragonflies can fly at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.