Comment by sparrish

The ancestors of dragonflies and damselflies have been the first insects that have evolved to fly well, not just to fly.

The other insects that are good fliers, e.g. flies, wasps, bees, certain moths, have evolved towards better flying in a completely different way from dragonflies, and many tens of millions of years later.

The ancestors of dragonflies have developed special muscles that can move separately and accurately each of the 4 wings, allowing exquisite flight control.

All the other good fliers among insects use only the equivalent of two wings, either by reducing one pair of wings, like in flies, or by having a mechanical linkage between the front and back wings, which makes them act like a single pair of wings, like in wasps, bees and fast-flying moths.

Moreover, the other good fliers among insects, unlike dragonflies, do not move directly the wings, but their flying muscles are attached to the thorax and contract it for moving the wings. A system of levers transmits the movement of the thorax to the wings. This also allows the wings to beat at a higher frequency than the frequency at which the nervous system can command the muscular contractions.

Their larvae are also pretty brutal predators and they also feed on mosquito larvae. Here's a YT vid showing how they hunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHo_9wnnUTE

Damselflies deserve a bit of attention too.

Random video https://youtube.com/shorts/-ALXaGRl_g8

That's awesome. Any way to facilitate them to multiply in my garden? There are enough mosquitos to go around.