My 4 yr old wants to know, Do Dragonflies Bite?

Question

Do Any varieties of dragonflies bite?

Answer 1

Yes, dragonflies, and even the more elegant looking damselflies are quite capable of biting a person. Their mandibles are quite well adapted for chomping down on unfortunate insects.
Even the nymphs are quite capable of delivering a nasty little pinch, they have that shovel-like labium that can rech and and grab a finger.
They are not aggressive however, dragonflies will not seek out people to deliver a bite, but if they are grabbed and held, they may retaliate.
I know this from expereince, I have done some bird banding before and would commonly have large darners stuck int he mist nets. When trying to remove them from the nets, I would commonly take bites to the fingers or wrist. Its completely understandable however, I was holding them by the thorax, and they were really not happy.

Answer 2

YES, dragonflies bite, because that's how they capture their food. They have impressive, sharply pointed mandibles that chomp down on the smaller insects they catch.

Do dragonflies bite people?" YES, if you catch one and hold it in your hand and carelessly allow its mandibles to reach your skin, it will bite as hard as it can in self defense. Very few dragonflies can even break the skin, but some of the big ones can do so and may induce an "ouch". They're certainly no danger to you, as the biggest dragonfly has a relatively small bite. A word of warning though: if, for some educational reason, you plan to let a dragonfly bite you, make sure you don't suddenly pull back, as you'll probably pull its head off and this is not a good example to present your audience!

Do dragonflies bite people spontaneously?" A big resounding NO. A dragonfly would never land on someone and bite.

Answer 3

A). "Can you tell me if dragonflies bite?"
The answer to this question has three parts:

(i) "Do dragonflies bite?" YES, dragonflies bite, because that's how they capture their food. They have impressive, sharply pointed mandibles that chomp down on the smaller insects they catch.

B. There is a second question: "Do dragonflies sting?" The simple answer to this is NO - they have no 'sting' as such. BUT there have been a number of accounts of egg-laying dragonflies that, when interrupted, continued the operation into the flesh or clothing of examining odonatists. Such actions could well be the origins of the many "old wives tales" pertaining to stinging dragonflies, and could also provide the answer as to why odonates have the names of 'Horse- stingers' and 'Devil's Darning Needles'. These names, and others like them, are part of dragonfly folk-lore in many parts of the world.

Philip Corbet (author of Dragonflies: Behaviour and Ecology of Odonata) drew our attention to the definition of a dragonfly in Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary (1755) as "a fierce stinging fly": possibly the result of a painful experience?



C. Lastly: "And what about larvae?" Again basically, despite their ferocious appearance, dragonfly larvae do not harm people. However, late-instar larvae of larger species can use their mandibles to take a nip at an intrusive odonatist's finger to give a noticeable poke. Cases have also been reported of loosely held larvae 'stinging' a researcher by turning its abdomen from side to side and inserting the sharply-pointed lateral spines into the intruder's flesh.

The main thing to remember is that all animals do what they can to protect themselves and that odonates are no exception. Although even minor blood-letting is highly unlikely to be encountered, it is advisable to handle captured dragonflies with care. If one receives a nip, it is only too easy to react by involuntarily releasing the insect - and, of course, "the one that got away" is always the rarest and most-desired!

(ii) "Do dragonflies bite people?" YES, if you catch one and hold it in your hand and carelessly allow its mandibles to reach your skin, it will bite as hard as it can in self defense. Very few dragonflies can even break the skin, but some of the big ones can do so and may induce an "ouch". They're certainly no danger to you, as the biggest dragonfly has a relatively small bite. A word of warning though: if, for some educational reason, you plan to let a dragonfly bite you, make sure you don't suddenly pull back, as you'll probably pull its head off and this is not a good example to present your audience!

(iii) "Do dragonflies bite people spontaneously?" A big resounding NO. A dragonfly would never land on someone and bite.

Answer 4

From what I have read, a dragonfly CAN bite but under almost all circumstances wouldn't. They use mandibles to eat their food. If you were to catch one and hurt it while holding it, it might bite out of self-defense but the bite would not be very painful at all.

So, they CAN bite but probably won't.

Good question.

Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet?

Answer 5

No. As a rule, they (like most animals) are afraid of humans and will only bite one as a means of escape or if its life is in imminent danger. Dragonflies eat lice, fleas, mosquitoes, bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, and other insects that are considered to be pests, which is why they are so beloved.

Answer 6

Have your 4-yr-old grab a dragonfly and see if it bites them.

Answer 7

Nope, dragonflies are sometimes called "mosquito hawk" because they catch and eat so many mosquitoes. Always on the hunt, dragonflies consume gnats, flies, and mosquitoes--all of which humans consider pests. So they are beneficial to humans I doubt they bite humans.

Answer 8

they can! Some have big opposing mandibles.(sideways jaws) They are generally very friendly however and will land and interact with people without biting.

Answer 9

Yes they could but i have been playing with them for years and have never been bitten.just be gentle with them.

Answer 10

Hahaha I don't think so. That's cute though. You gotta love kids.