Dragonflies of Armenia
Dragonflies have an elongated body, 4 wings and big eyes. Especially the bigger species are capable of rapid flight, being able to quickly shift sidewards or even backwards. They outclass almost all other insects in manoeuvrability.
The larvae live in water bodies, the adult insects can be found virtually anywhere feeding or migrating but live mainly at the waterside where they mate and lay eggs. All species, larvae and adults alike, are predators, feeding mostly on other insects. To man they are harmless.
Officially there are known as “tsja’pur” in Armenian or “Strekoza” in Russian, but a lot of people in Armenia seem to be unaware of these names and call these insects “helicopters”. The engineer Sikorsky indeed got part of his inspiration for his aircraft from observing these insects.
In Armenia till now 56 species have been found. Worldwide there are more than 5000 species known, but still many are undescribed: a real number of about 10000 species is expected.
-Marc Tailly