The Dragonfly - one awesome InsectThe Dragonfly is a predatory, four-winged insect that fliesand can hover in one place. They eat a diet of other smallerinsects and catch them while in flight. There are manydifferent species of dragonfly. It is suspected thatdragonflies have been around in nearly the same form forthree hundred million years. Like every insect, the dragonfly has three parts to itsbody. It has a head, a thorax and abdomen. The abdomen islong, thin and segmented and very flexible. The dragonfly has two large compound eyes that take up mostof the room on its head. On the thorax it has three pairs ofjointed legs and two pairs of long, delicate membranous andtransparent or iridescent wings. The dragonfly breathes through spiracles that are tiny holesin its abdomen. Most dragonflies are found near water. That is because theirmating and hunting are usually done over water and part oftheir lifecycle takes place in the water. The dragonfly goes through a partial metamorphosis. An eggis laid in water, underwater or in plants near water. Alarva hatches from the egg and lives in the water and grows. The larva is also known as a nymph and this part of the lifecycle is called a nymph stage. The larva will grow and molt old skin many times. When thelarva reaches its full growth it emerges from the water andcrawls using the claws on its feet onto a plant. Once it isdry it can fly over land but it frequently returns to awater source to hunt and reproduce. A dragonfly can live from six months to seven years,depending on the species, with most of its life spent inlarval form. The adult dragonfly only lives for a few weeks,but they are quite a sight to see as they flit and hoverover the water, with their huge, iridescent eyes continuallylooking for prey. You'll be pleased as punch with this awesomeplush stuffed Dragonflycomplete with it's own wingsJust a remarkably splendid plush stuffed Dragonflywhich is a whole lot of fun to have!