The dragonfly is one of the oldest and most successful insect lineages, instantly recognizable by its iridescent colors, long, slender bodies, and four powerful wings. Their impressive aerial abilities and voracious appetite for other flying insects have earned them a reputation as fearsome hunters. Given their predatory efficiency, do dragonflies truly qualify as apex predators in the natural world?
The Adult Hunter
The adult dragonfly is an unparalleled aerial hunter, utilizing acute vision and flight mechanics to secure its prey. Its head is dominated by two massive compound eyes, which can contain up to 30,000 lenses, granting the insect a near-360-degree field of vision. This acute sight allows the dragonfly to focus selectively on a single target, tracking prey against complex backgrounds.
The insect’s flying skill is arguably its greatest hunting asset, as it can control each of its four wings independently. This allows for unmatched maneuverability, including the ability to hover, fly backward, and execute rapid, complex turns in mid-air. Dragonflies do not chase their prey directly but instead calculate the target’s trajectory using predictive targeting, aligning their flight path to intercept the victim at a precise point in space.
This interception strategy is highly effective, leading to a hunting success rate that consistently measures between 95 and 97 percent. Once an interception is made, the dragonfly extends its spiny legs forward to form a capture basket. Common prey caught and consumed mid-flight include mosquitoes, gnats, midges, and various flies, making the adult dragonfly a significant regulator of insect populations.
The Aquatic Assassin
The terrestrial adult stage represents only a fraction of the dragonfly’s life, as it spends the majority of its existence underwater as a larva, known as a nymph. In this aquatic environment, the nymph is an equally voracious predator, often concealing itself among bottom sediments or aquatic vegetation.
This apparatus is a hinged lower lip, often referred to as a “mask” because it is folded and held under the head when at rest. When the nymph detects a passing meal, the lip shoots forward with remarkable speed, propelled by hydraulic pressure from the abdomen. The tip of the mask is equipped with hooks or pincers that swiftly grasp the prey and draw it back toward the nymph’s powerful mandibles.
The entire strike and retraction sequence can occur in milliseconds. This lightning-fast action allows the nymph to capture a variety of aquatic life, including mosquito larvae, aquatic worms, small crustaceans, tadpoles, and small fish. Larger nymphs are also known to be cannibalistic, preying on smaller dragonfly and damselfly larvae.
Position in the Food Web
Defining a species as an apex predator means it has no natural predators in its environment and sits at the very top of its local food chain. While the dragonfly is undoubtedly an extremely efficient hunter, particularly in the insect world, it does not meet the strict definition of an apex predator in the broader ecosystem. Both the adult and nymph stages are subject to predation from numerous other animals.
The adult dragonfly, despite its aerial agility, is preyed upon by fast-flying birds like swifts, swallows, and falcons. They also fall victim to spiders, robber flies, and nocturnal hunters like bats. During the vulnerable stage when the adult is newly emerged, it is often caught by frogs, lizards, and turtles near the water’s edge.
The aquatic nymph is a regular food source for many creatures inhabiting ponds, lakes, and rivers. Its predators include various species of fish, newts, salamanders, and larger aquatic insects, such as predaceous diving beetles.
Given this extensive list of predators throughout both life stages, the dragonfly is more accurately classified as a highly successful mesopredator, or middle predator, within its niche. Their ecological impact is still significant, however, as they exert a strong top-down control over the populations of small insects, linking the aquatic and terrestrial food webs.