With excellent eyesight and the ability to fly at speeds up to 30 miles per hour, the dragonfly is an excellent hunter, consuming, for the most part, mosquitoes and flies. Ralph LaPlant Photo

There are 26 orders of insects, with the dragonfly falling into the one meaning “tooth”. It is the order Odonata. Damselflies also fall into this order. One difference between the two is that a dragonfly holds its wings, at rest, out to the side. Damselflies hold theirs up and over their backs. Between the two, there are over 4,900 species known worldwide, with about 400 found in the United States.
Dragonfly eggs are laid on the water or onto stems of aquatic plants. The nymph stage is experienced underwater. During this stage, they feed on other smaller insects, tadpoles, and in some rare cases, small fish.                                                                                                               
Having two sets of veined wings and appearing to dart from place to place, the dragonfly is an excellent flyer. This is where it feeds mainly on the mosquito and flies. With excellent eyesight, partially due to the fact it has as many as 30,000 facets (a lens-like visual unit) per eye, it can easily find its prey. Once the prey is found, the dragonfly forms a basket with its six legs around it. Then it uses the front two legs to grip it while it eats on the fly (no pun intended), for the most part. The legs are mounted forward on the body and are seldom used for walking.
Being called darning needle, ear sewer, mosquito hawk, snake doctor, spindle, and more, the dragonfly has a heart rate of 118 per minute and has been observed flying at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. Ancient fossils reveal that dragonflies have had wingspans of over 30 inches, making them the largest known insects.