Well I Never...

[Luco El Loco]

A dragonfly is a flying insect characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, midges and other small insects like flies, bees, and butterflies. They are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. Dragonflies do not bite or sting humans. In fact, they are valued as a predator that helps control the populations of insects that do.

(Today's featured picture on Wikipedia.)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

I never knew they ate all those insects. But bees? Bees are good! Why not wasps?

[skuttyb]

actually according to qi its only honeybees that are good, all the other species are spiteful gits and wasps are the ones that die when they sting you

[static anonymity]

But when bees sting, their "stinger" is ripped from their body, often becoming stuck in their victim, which is why they die. Wasps, on the other hand, have a stinger which has no barbs on it, meaning it can sting repeatedly even after a wasp has died.

"A wasp can extract the shaft and fly off contented with having executed a nasty attack on the hapless victim. On the other hand, the poor old bee ends up having his entire stinging apparatus, poison sac and all, wrenched out of its abdomen. In almost all instances the bee will die following the delivery of a sting." - www.insectstings.co.uk/sting.html
"Honey bees have a barbed stinger. Only the honey bee leaves her stinger (with its venom sac attached) in the skin of its victim. Since it takes two to three minutes for the venom sac to inject all its venom, instant removal of the stinger and sac usually reduces harmful effects. Scrape away with a sideways movement (one quick scrape) with a fingernail. Never try to use the thumb and forefinger or tweezers to pinch out the stinger since this maneuver forces (injects) more venom from the sac down into the wound.

Wasps, yellowjackets and hornets have a lance-like stinger without barbs and can sting repeatedly. They should be brushed off the victim's skin promptly with deliberate movements, then quietly and immediately leave the area. " - ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2076.html

And I never thought dragonflies stung nor bit people... I seem to be the only person I've talked to who's always known that, which is strange... Good to know they do something useful other than copulate in mid-air, though.

[Luco El Loco]

Can they really? Yeah I never thought they were harmful too. I remember they had a lot flying over this pond we had at infant school. Me and my friends seemed to congregate there a lot.