Dragonflies are ancient predators dependent on wetland habitats that have declined dramatically, with individual insects potentially having welfare-relevant experiences during their complex life cycles.
The welfare status of dragonflies is scientifically uncertain but philosophically interesting. Their complex nervous systems, sophisticated visual processing, and pursuit behaviors involving real-time prediction suggest cognitive complexity. Dragonfly larvae living in polluted, degraded wetlands may experience physiological stress that affects their development and survival. The rapid loss of wetland habitats disrupts the lifecycle of billions of individual insects, preventing completion of their biological programs in ways that may constitute welfare-relevant deprivation. Garden ponds that provide larval habitat support millions of individuals completing their remarkable metamorphoses.