Text Box: Dragonfly nymphs usually live in very clean, well-oxygenated water. Being very predacious, dragonfly nymphs stick to shore or around shoal drop-offs for good hunting. Dragonflies are found all over the world - there are at least 39 species of darners and 98 species of gomphus dragonflies in North America alone. Dragonflies mate in flight, and are often seen flying in tandem. After mating, the female lays her eggs in vegetation, over open water, and sometimes into the lake bottom. Dragonflies have no pupal or larval stages. They hatch from their eggs as nymphs which are just a small version of mature nymphs. They molt several times, getting larger each time and then finally crawl onto shore, where they hatch into adults. Nymphs migrate to deeper water in the winter, returning to shallow water in the spring. Did You Know… The dragonfly life cycle may be complete in a year or two, but can take as long as four years, making dragonflies one of the longest-living species of insect, as well as the largest. Dragonfly Life Cycle