 Many
of the animals which live in aquatic ecosystems rely on the plants for
food. There are many insects living in and around bodies of water. Some
of these insects live their adult lives as flying insects, like the dragonfly,
but their larval stages are spent in the water.
The dragonfly is a common sight around
bodies of water in the warmer months. This is an adult dragonfly. They
eat mosquitoes and are eaten by a wide variety of birds, amphibians, spiders,
other insects and even bats.
 This
is a dragonfly nymph. A nymph is an
immature or larval stage in the life cycle of some insects. An adult female
dragonfly generally lays her eggs in the water. The eggs hatch within 12
to 30 days into the nymphal stage. The dragonfly nymph is the color of
the bottom of the pond.
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