Dragonflies

[GBBUDD]

I have never seen a nymph jump they are in the water or when they mature they fly . Never saw one jump and not have wings

 

[Marck]

It's great to have a thread for dragonfly & damselfly photos and information.

Just a note on terminology. Immature dragonflies are called naiads (or nymphs), They are in the order Odonata. However, beetles are the adult forms of a completely different order of insects, Coleoptera.

 

[Linda W]

I have never seen a nymph jump they are in the water or when they mature they fly . Never saw one jump and not have wings

I could certainly be wrong. It looked like a hopping version of something that was identified on iNaturalist as an “exuvia (shed) of a dragonfly naiad.” I’m a newbie entomologist too, but enthusiastic!

 

[Marck]

I could certainly be wrong. It looked like a hopping version of something that was identified on iNaturalist as an “exuvia (shed) of a dragonfly naiad.” I’m a newbie entomologist too, but enthusiastic!

Immature insects go through several stages known as instars before reaching the final adult instar. At the end of each instar the old exoderm ('skin') is shed. These shed skins are the exuviae. Your picture looks like the exuvia if the last immature instar. It crawled out of the water and shed its exoderm, transforming into a winged adult dragonfly.