Dragonflies were know as the “devil’s darning needles” because it was believed that they would sew the lips of wicked children together while they were sleeping. And it was thought that dragonflies could bring snakes back to life. As a result, they were also known as “snake doctors.”

Despite their appearance, rapid speed, and “rattling” approach dragonflies are harmless to humans.The clasper at the end of the abdomen of the insect is often mistaken for a stinger. The male actually uses it to hold onto the female dragonfly when mating!

Check out these amazing facts

  • the scientific name “odonata” is a remnant of a classification system developed by Johann Christian Fabricius, an 18th century entomologist
  • he used mouthparts rather than wing characteristics to classify dragonflies
  • odonata means “tooth-jawed” and refers to maxillae and labial palp (lower jaw) of the nymph
  • dragonflies have a top flight speed of up to 100 km/h
  • each dragonfly eye contains up to 30,000 lenses
  • the eyes’ position on the dragonfly gives the insect a 360 degree field of vision
  • although 80% of the brain is devoted to sight dragonflies are not able to register detail well
  • the oldest fossilized record of a dragonfly is from the Carboniferous Period, over 300 million years ago
  • the Nootka word for dragonfly translates as “clacking stick,” the name given to cedar tongs used to remove coals from the fire
  • at least 80 species of dragonflies have been recorded in British Columbia