The Eastern Pondhawk lives up to its name as a fearsome and agile predator - it's able to take down prey its own size, including other dragonflies.

Both males and females begin their adult form with green and black bodies, but the males turn powdery blue as they mature. Within a minute of mating, females deposit eggs at the water's surface. 

Once hatched, nymphs live as aquatic naiads and hunt underwater prey like mosquito larvae, growing until they can climb up pond vegetation and molt into their beautiful adult form.