FROM rom a time before dinosaurs existed, dragonflies have ruled the skies. Fossils have shown that back then, some species could grow to have a wingspan of 70cm or more.

These days, the biggest dragonflies in terms of wingspan can be found in Australia with a wingspan of 19cm. Here in England, at best, you are likely to come across dragonflies with a wingspan of around 14cm.

The reason for the extinction of these true giants of the skies is due to the change in oxygen levels that since prehistoric times has declined by some 20 per cent.

Insects breathe by defusing oxygen through their skins so the decline in the amount of oxygen meant this became increasingly difficult for larger insects, in particular ones with such a high metabolism as the dragonflies.

Life for dragonflies, like most wild creatures, is a hard one. They spend most of their life living underwater as larva, predating on other invertebrates and tadpoles. This could be for anything up to seven years depending on the species.

Come summertime, the dragonfly larva clambers out of the water.

Then one of the most spectacular metamorphoses of the natural world takes place as the larval skin splits and the much larger adult dragonflies body and wings unfold from within.

A couple of hours later the dragonfly is ready for its first flight andm in my opinion, there are no better skilled fliers.

Although a dragonfly can live for up to four months, most don't make it to more than a couple of weeks.

Few animals predate on dragonflies as they have fantastic eyesight, rapid reactions and are masters of flight. Their small amount of active predators are birds, with wagtails taking a few, as well as hobbies when the opportunity presents them. The majority fall foul of the weather.

Dragonflies need warmth and calm for two reasons. First, while they may be masters of the sky, they are still light and, therefore, winds will easily blow a dragonfly onto a perilous course.

They are also quite large and need the heat of the sun to warm them up for their muscles to react fast enough. A dragonfly's prey, mosquitoes and other flies, also need these conditions and without sufficient prey the dragonfly will soon starve.

On a cool breezy day if you take a walk through one of the wetland reserves you can sometimes spot cold dragonflies sheltering from the weather among the rank vegetation.

In this cold state, they are anything but rapid and you can get very close to them.

It's now you get to truly appreciate just how colourful and fascinating these creatures are.