Possibly the earliest reference to the name is from Francis Bacon's "Sylva Sylvarum: or a Naturall Historie in Ten Centuries." (a curious hotch-potch of experiments, observations, speculations, ancient teachings, and analytical discussions on topics ranging from the causes of hiccups to explanations for the shortage of rain in Egypt). See similar questions...

Mainly, adult dragonflies eat other flying insects, particularly midges and mosquitoes. They also will take butterflies, moths and smaller dragonflies. There is one Asian species which takes spiders from their webs! The larvae, which live in water, eat almost anything living that is smaller than themselves. The larger dragonfly larvae are known to catch and eat small fish or fry. Usually they eat bloodworms or other aquatic insect larvae. See similar questions...

Dragonflies do have enemies. Among the species that catch and eat adult dragonflies and damselflies are birds (e.g. Wagtails and Hobbies), Spiders (many damselflies are caught in webs), Frogs, and larger species of dragonflies (which catch and eat other dragonflies and damselflies). In the larval stage, which is spent underwater, they are preyed on by fish, frogs, toads and newts, other water invertebrates - and Kingfishers (see photo below). See similar questions...

Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect order known as Odonata, meaning "toothed jaw" - their mouthparts are serrated. They are often referred to collectively as "dragonflies", however there are two different sub-orders. Damselflies are insect in the sub-order Zygoptera (meaning "yoke-winged"). All four wings are near enough equal in size and shape. They are usually small, weakly flying insects that stay close to the water margins or water surface. See similar questions...

No, although large dragonflies if held in the hand will sometimes try to bite, but fail to break the skin. They have a lot of "folk names" which imply that they do (such as Horse stinger), but they don't use their egg-laying tube (ovipositor) for stinging. They also don't bite (people) but they are a fearsome predator of other flying insects. See similar questions...

There are many legends and myths about dragonflies and damselflies from all parts of the world. Many are evident from their common nicknames. In the UK, Dragonflies were called 'Horse-Stingers'. This name may come from the way a captured dragonfly curls its abdomen as if in an attempt to sting. Another possible explanation of this name is that the big Aeshnids etc. are/were often seen flying round horses in fields. Here they were actually feeding on the flies attracted to the horses. See similar questions...

Yes, Dragonflies do have a pair of antennae. They are very tiny and difficult to see. If you look at the photo on the right you will just be able to see the antennae between the front of the eye and the front of the face of this Emperor dragonfly. As dragonflies rely much more on their eyesight than on a sense of touch or smell, they do not need the large antennae found on some beetles and moths. See similar questions...

When dragonflies and damselflies first emerge from their water-borne larval stage, most have very muted colours. Depending on weather conditions, it can take a few days for them to gain their bright adult colour. Common Blue damselflies are often a pale pinkish-brown rather than sky-blue on first emergence. Some damselflies, Blue-tailed are a good example, undergo a gradual colour change as they age. See similar questions...

Several species of dragonfly are known to collect in large aggregations or swarms. In Europe, the Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) and the Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) have been observed to do this. In most cases this appears to be due to very favourable feeding conditions in the locality. It may also be a "courting" group with males actively searching for females. This is less likely as males are much more aggressive to each other when looking for a mate. See similar questions...

the shortest, a dragonfly's life-cycle from egg to death of adult is about 6 months. Some of the larger dragonflies take 6 or 7 years! Most of this time is spent in the larval form, beneath the water surface, catching other invertebrates. The small damselflies live for a couple of weeks as free-flying adults. The larger dragonflies can live for 4 months in their flying stage. In Britain, lucky Damsels seldom go more than two weeks and Dragons more than two months. See similar questions...

Dragonflies certainly do eat large numbers of flying pest species, but using them to control these pests is not really feasible. There have been a number of studies carried out and only in very restricted and tightly controlled environments have Dragonflies, or their larvae, been shown to be able to control pest numbers. In the open, there is no reason to suppose that Dragonflies introduced to a pest rich habitat will stay there. See similar questions...

Other names for Poland's Syndrome include Poland sequence, Poland anomaly, Poland syndactyly, absence of the pectoralis muscle with syndactyly, Pectoral dysplasia-dysdactyly. "Poland" may be seen as the possesive "Poland's" or simply "Poland", depending on the author. DISCLAIMER This site is for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to substitute for informed medical advice. See similar questions...

This started in late July 2003 when we became aware that our son, Sergeant Brian Horn with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, was still living under extremely harsh conditions. His unit parachuted into Northern Iraq on 26 March 2003 (Brian spent his birthday on that plane) and 5 months later was still sleeping on the ground. We never knew this, it wasn't told to us by Brian or any of his soldiers. See similar questions...

The Rialto is named for a marketplace in Venice in the vicinity of the Rialto bridge. As people gathered there to gossip and exchange ideas, so do we gather here. See similar questions...

They have very little hair, just a few hairs on their feet, some whiskers, and a little hair in their mouths. See similar questions...

We refer to this radiation as a background because we see it no matter where we look. It clearly doesn't come from any nearby objects, such as stars or clouds within our Galaxy, or even from external galaxies. It is clearly a distant, "background" source of radiation. You can think of the whole Universe as being filled with this background of microwave photons. See similar questions...

The answer is simple: there are about 200 million adult Americans, and we only talk to a few thousand every year. But you should realize by now that if we don't talk to you, we talk to people just like you. Everyone has the same chance of being called, and people who think and live like you will wind up in our survey. And if we do happen to call you in the future, remember that you will represent the people just like you who are not in our sample. See similar questions...

Icebergs are operationally monitored by the National Ice Center here in the U.S. The Center has developed a system for naming them, and typically the research community has followed NIC's naming. See similar questions...

During the production of aerogel a wet gel is formed which when dried becomes filled with air. Thus the name aerogel, which means: air gel. See similar questions...

Most registrants will be called within a few weeks to verify their information. It is not unusual though for more time to pass before we call to "activate" your profile in our system pending the number of mystery shopping assignments in your area and the number of registration responses. After your profile has been activated, a Mystery Guest scheduler may call to learn your availability for a mystery shopping assignment in your area. See similar questions...