Discovering Dragonflies, a Little Flying Wonder

🎂 6 + years ⏱️ 30 min 📍 Pond ⭐ medium

You sit by the edge of a pond. The sun reflects on the water. Suddenly, you hear a soft buzzing sound. There! Something zips past you so quickly that you can hardly follow it with your eyes. It hovers briefly over the water, stands still in the air, and then flies away in a flash. A dragonfly. Dragonflies seem like creatures from another world. They can fly like a helicopter: forward, backward, sideways, and even hover in the air. Their wings sparkle in the light. And their eyes are huge, allowing them to see almost everything around them. Maybe today you will consciously discover a dragonfly for the first time. Perhaps you already know them. But do you also know that they lived alongside dinosaurs?

What you'll need

Notebook and pen
Field guide (optional)

How it works

Find a good observation spot. You can find dragonflies near ponds, streams, or in quiet gardens with water features. Important: The location should be sunny. Dragonflies love warmth. Sit at the edge, stay calm, and move slowly.
Observe their movements. Look closely: How does the dragonfly fly? Does it zip back and forth quickly? Does it sometimes hover in the air? Does it land somewhere? You can try to follow its movements with your eyes. Also, pay attention to whether it is flying alone or if you see several.
Recognize their colors and shapes. Dragonflies come in many colors: blue, green, red, gold. Their wings are transparent. Their eyes are enormous, almost the entire head is an eye. If you like, you can draw a dragonfly. Or you can describe it: What color was it? How big was it?
Count how many you see. How many dragonflies do you see in 5 minutes? How many of them were blue? You can make a small tally or wrap the numbers in a story: 'Three dragonflies flew over the pond, one danced in the light, the other landed on a branch.'
Extra tip: Bring a field guide to find out which species of dragonfly you saw. Some are called the Emperor Dragonfly, others the Common Hawker or the Azure Damselfly. It's really fun, like a detective game in nature.
Dragonflies lived during the time of the dinosaurs, over 150 million years ago! Back then, they were huge, but their body structure has remained almost the same. When you discover a dragonfly, you see a real flying wonder from prehistoric times.