Johan van der Wielen ~ Nature Photography

The various stages of metamorphosis from larva to dragonfly follow one another in rapid succession. It begins with the back of the larva bursting open, after which the entire forebody wriggles out. The dragonfly then remains suspended in this position, sometimes for up to an hour. In the meantime, it is busy, among other things, practicing and hardening the 'new' legs. Only then does it flip over by suddenly grabbing the old larval body with its legs and pulling out the last piece of the tail. Here you can see through the old larva skin the last peice of tail still in the skin.