A Little Bit More
Until it’s pointed out, it probably doesn’t occur to you to think “how” a dragonfly can capture prey items zooming around so quickly on the wing. If you had been asked before reading this unit, my guess is you couldn’t give a reasonable answer – now you can. A quick look at the huge dragonfly eyes, suggests they must have good eyesight but seeing prey items is only part of the story of capturing prey. These strong fliers are able to see prey items, overtake them in the air, and then scoop them up with their legs. Dragon and damselflies don’t have special mouths or mouthparts for plucking insects out of the air but they do have specialized legs for capture. It’s interesting to note that bats have a similar behavior – they don’t use their mouths either but scoop insects out of the air using their wing folds.
Emerald dragonfly showing the net-like hairs on the legs. © Solon morse
Although dragonflies are especially difficult to capture, if you’re able to catch one you can try a little experiment. Once captured, gently hold the wings of the insect and offer a fly or other small insect to the animal. In most cases, the dragonfly will grab the insect and then actually begin feeding on it - despite the fact that you’re holding it! Guess you could call that real programming focus.
Activities
Science and English – Debunk Myths
Objectives: Realize there are many myths in our culture
Materials: Online access
We’ve mentioned in this unit that adults have often told children that dragonflies will “darn up their lips” if they’re not good. Of course, this is a myth but there are lots of different myths about animals that need to be debunked. Check out these websites that debunk some common myths. This should be interesting for your students to learn about.
Check out
Key Concepts
Behavior and Regulation, Identification, Life Cycles, Predator/Prey Relationships, Structures and Functions
Questions
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