What is the lifecycle of a dragonfly?

Answer 1

Dragonflies (and damselflies) pass through what's known as incomplete metamorphosis (IM). However, because they go from aquatic to aerial, the transformation is one of the more dramatic in the IM insects.

As the larva (or naiad) passes through roughly 10-12 stages as it grows, it slowly develops wing buds. During the phase just before adult emergence, the specialized labium (kind of an extensible arm that can shoot out from under the head to grasp prey) tissues recede into the adult form.

When the time comes to split the larval skin and emerge as an adult, the naiad will climb out of the water onto reed, rocks etc. Once the emergence has occurred, the adult slowly expands its wings and hardens its new skin (exoskeleton) before the first flight. The old larval skin will remain at the emergence site until it is blown or knocked from its base.

Answer 2

Female dragonflies lay eggs in or near water. The eggs then hatch into nymphs. While in the nymph stage they eat mosquito larva. Most of the dragonfly's life is spent in the nymph form, beneath the water. After three to five years, the larva metamorphoses into an adult. The adult stage can last as long as five or six months.

Answer 3

Egg, aquatic larva, imago (adult).