Crossword clues for damselfly
The Collaborative International Dictionary
damselfly \damselfly\ n. a slender nonstinging insect similar to but smaller than the dragonfly but having wings folded when at rest.
Wiktionary
n. Any of various insects of the suborder ''Zygoptera'' that have long slender bodies, and are similar to dragonfly but having wings folded when at rest.
WordNet
n. slender non-stinging insect similar to but smaller than the dragonfly but having wings folded when at rest
Wikipedia
Damselflies are insects of suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller, have slimmer bodies, and most species fold the wings along the body when at rest. An ancient group, damselflies have existed since at least the Lower Permian, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
All damselflies are predatory; both nymphs and adults eat other insects. The nymphs are aquatic, with different species living in a variety of freshwater habitats including acid bogs, ponds, lakes and rivers. The nymphs moult repeatedly, at the last moult climbing out of the water to undergo metamorphosis. The skin splits down the back, they emerge and inflate their wings and abdomen to gain their adult form. Their presence on a body of water indicates that it is relatively unpolluted, but their dependence on freshwater makes them vulnerable to damage to their wetland habitats.
Some species of damselfly have elaborate courtship behaviours. Many species are sexually dimorphic, the males often being more brightly coloured than the females. Like dragonflies, they reproduce using indirect insemination and delayed fertilisation. A mating pair form a shape known as a "heart" or "wheel", the male clasping the female at the back of the head, the female curling her abdomen down to pick up sperm from secondary genitalia at the base of the male's abdomen. The pair often remain together with the male still clasping the female while she lays eggs within the tissue of plants in or near water using a robust ovipositor.
Fishing flies that mimic damselfly nymphs are sometimes used in wet-fly fishing. Damselflies sometimes provide the subject for personal jewellery such as brooches.
Usage examples of "damselfly".
Mosquitoes are actually flies, but dragonflies, butterflies, damselflies, fireflies, mayflies and stoneflies are not.
The nymphs of both dragonflies and damselflies eat mosquito larvae and other pests.
As word spread they began to come up, from lower down the mountain: cockroaches by the ten thousand, bees, hundreds of varieties of beetle, flies, gnats, midges, mosquitoes, dragonflies, damselflies, crane flies, mayflies, yellow-and-black-striped wasps, orange-and-black-striped hornets.
Some Bink recognized: lightning bugs zapping their charges (this must have been where the demonstration bug had come from, the one that had burned up in the village), soldier beetles marching in precise formations to their bivouac, ladybugs and damselflies hovering near in the immemorial fashion of easy-virtue females near armies.
Some Bink recognized: lightning bugs zapping their charges (this must have been where the demonstration bug had come from, the one that had burned up hi the village), soldier beetles marching hi precise formations to their bivouac, ladybugs and damselflies hovering near hi the immemorial fashion of easy-virtue females near armies.