Originally posted by JustAGirl:
I love dragonflies and just wanted to share this picture I got of one while camping at Yosemite this summer. They are amazing to me just like butterflies. And until this summer I had no idea they only live for 24 hours. Wow!
Life expectancy.
The average life expectancy of the adult odonate depends on the part of the world in which it lives. Generally speaking, in temperate
zones the largest portion of an odonate's lifetime, which may amount to several years, is spent in the larval stage while the adult phase is one or two months. In species common to the tropics and subtropics, however, larval development may be reduced to a few months and the adult stage may last a full year.
In temperate
zones, adult odonates that survive the vulnerable period between commencement of emergence and successful maiden flight, have an average life expectancy of 4-6 weeks (dragonflies) or 1-2 weeks (damselflies).