The dragonfly’s slim body and long, thin wings make it one of the fastest fliers in the insect world. The front wings and the back wings beat alternately, giving the dragonfly excellent flight control. Dragonflies have large, compound eyes, each made up of about 30,000 lenses, and can see prey up to 12 m (39 ft) away. The legs form a basket to hold food.

A young dragonfly, known as a nymph, lives underwater. As it grows bigger, it moults – its skin splits and a new, larger one forms. Each time, the nymph begins to look more like the adult dragonfly. For the last moult, the nymph climbs out of the water, and the adult dragonfly emerges.

A butterfly uncoils its long proboscis to sip nectar from flowers. Insect mouthparts are very varied. Flies have a spongy pad, horseflies have scissor-like jaws, and mosquitoes have a sharp proboscis.

This cockchafer beetle has two pairs of wings but only uses the back pair to fly. The hardened front wings, called elytra, cover the back wings when they are not in use, protecting them. Some insects have muscles attached directly to the wings, others move their wings by changing their body shape. A small number of insects, such as silverfish, do not have wings.