DYK dragonflies spend 50 to 80% of their lives as larvae swimming in water.

I got bit by a dragon fly once, and I wasn't threatening towards it in any way. I just stuck my finger out in the hope that one of the many dragon flies would land on it, and one did, and then the fucker bit me for no reason and flew off

I used to be pretty scared of dragonflies as a kid.

My older brother told me that the back part of their body was all stinger. He said if you piss them off they'll sting you and the stinger can go in one side of your wrist and come out the other.

Scared the fucking shit out of me.

I've saved hundreds of these guys from drowning as a kid. They would dry off on me, look at me, somehow looked very grateful and then fly away.

I was never bitten and I have held so many. I love them. Good karma.

Once as a kid I ran my hand through some leaves on a tree, and a large dragonfly clamped down on the fleshy part between the thumb and the index. I shook my hand violently and looked at it. Fucker's whole body was torn off, but the head was still there, just biting me. Shook again and it was gone. Fucking traumatic.

I usually find them on my clothesline and they're pretty chill even if you wander too close. But I tried to tickle one and it flew off angrily as if yelling "I was trying to have a fucking nap! God! So many fucking assholes everywhere!".
I definitely felt a middle age exhausted vibe oozing from it...

I used to work at a pet store and we'd get big cartons of crickets for reptile food. If you've ever purchased them from Petco/PetSmart it's just a garbage bin in the back room with some egg crate in it.

Anyways, they shipped with potato slices and other things to help sustain them but they were usually pretty savage by the time you opened the box to add them to the bins. Surprised me the first time I got my arms covered in them and they started munching away. Didn't hurt at all, they're crickets, but boy were they trying. Dozens of little cricket mouths gently pinching away. I just kinda stood there dumbfounded like are you for serious little dudes??

-has a 99% kill rate, higher than all other animals

-humans "it bites??????"

no shade, just v funny to me

Anything with a mouth can technically bite. What's even weirder is that dragonflies cannot walk in their adult form

I was hiking with my grandson and the trail was post-rain and chock full of mosquitoes. We stopped for a breather and were talking face to face, our heads about a foot apart, mosquitoes everywhere. Just then a dragonfly slow flew right between our eyes and we both saw his "wing flutter" pulling tens of mosquitoes into his "wake" and just sucking them up like popcorn. It was cool to see.

They can also curl their bodies up, which makes complete sense, but when I caught one as a kid I was NOT expecting them to be able to do that as I'd only ever seen them straightened out. I think it tried to bite, but I freaked out and immediately let go.

I was flying my paramotor one morning in Florida. I didn't notice it at the time, but something caught my eye while editing the video from my helmet camera. It was a dragonfly at somewhere around 1100-1300 ft AGL.

No idea what it was doing up there.

The ones you REALLY don't want to fuck around with are Giant Water Bugs.

How painful was the bite? I'm guessing worse than mosquito, but less than a bee sting?

At least it wasn't Meganeura.

With single wing length reaching 32 centimetres (13 in), a wingspan around 65–75 cm (2.13–2.46 ft)...

Dragonfly-man? Worth it.

I got bitten by one as a youngster. Always had a healthy respect for them ever since.

Ohh yes! I told everyone that dragonfly do bite and no one believe me! Decades ago a dragonfly land on my finger and i thought it's kinda cute, then it suddenly bite me and i have to yeet it away in shock.

Don't be threatening Dragonflies. Dragonflies are cool.

https://youtu.be/wFAR3WggSRk

Yes they do. And they bite pretty damn hard for what looks like a little bug.

Same