Dragonflies

There are several types of dragonfly found on Tenerife, breeding in water tanks, reservoirs, ponds and disused swimming pools.

Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, midges and other small insects like flies, bees, and butterflies. They are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic.

Dragonflies do not normally bite or sting humans, though they will bite in order to escape, if grasped by the abdomen. They are valued as predators that help control populations of harmful insects, such as mosquitoes.

Emperor Dragonfly

The bright blue male emperor dragonfly is extremely sharp sighted and is one of the fastest flying of all insects. The adult dragonfly is able to catch most of its prey while flying. The emperor dragonfly is usually recognizable by its large size. The male has a deep blue abdomen, divided by a central back stripe. Its head is green. At close range it can be identified by the distinctive rounded inside edges of the hind wings. The female is green and brown and is much less conspicuous than the male.

Vagrant Emperor

The Vagrant Emperor - also known as the Lesser Emperor Dragonfly - is a medium-sized hawker with an overall pale brown appearance and brown eyes. The costa is yellow and the pterostigma is long and brown. The top of is blue in the male whereas it is brownish-violet in the female and immatures.

Scarlet Darter

The Scarlet Darter is a native species to the Canary Islands due to the year round tropical climate. These dragonflies are generally very active in warm weather and quite difficult to approach. The females are much more subdued in both colour and behaviour than their male counterparts and therefore much harder to find.

Red-Veined Darter

The Red Veined Darter is a common species in Southern Europe. The wingtips of this species have small yellow-coloured pterostigma, edged with black, which distinguish it from the Common Darter. Adult red-veined darters are red (males) or yellow (females), showing beautiful saturated colours. Young animals may be greenish, with black stripes on the thorax and abdomen, while the definitive colours are not fully developed.