Dragonflies are monsters

Although dragonflies can't hear or smell very well, they are perfectly adapted predators, with a success rate (95%) that outdoes lions. I list some of their more extraordinary qualities below:

• They can eat the prey they capture on the wing, without having to land to consume it.
• They have remarkable abilities to selectively focus on and track a single moving target.
• They are magnificent aerialists, with the ability to hover, dive, fly backward and upside down, and reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.
• Each of their four wings is attached to the thorax with a separate muscle, so they can still catch prey when one is missing.
• Their eyes may be the keenest in the insect world and take up almost their entire head, with as many as 30,000 facets that give them a full field of vision.
• They have voracious appetites and have been observed eating 30 flies in a row.

Imagine their ferocity 300 million years ago, when their wingspan was 2 1/2'!

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