Giant dragonfly

Giant dragonflies were fearless and voracious hunters known to prey on any warm-blooded creature, as well as all other sorts of insects.
==Description==
The giant dragonfly was an insect of far larger proportions than their cousins the regular dragonfly, being 10 feet (3 meters) long with a wingspan of 10 feet (3 meter), though the body itself was just 2 feet (60 centimeters) wide. Some especially large giant dragonflies had 20 feet (6 meters) wingspans and body lengths. They had a remarkable brilliant, glittering coloration.
==Behavior==
They were fearless against anyone of smaller size than themselves and suffered from a voracious appetite. They were rather hard to hit with missile weaponry due to their quick and darting movement.
The skin of the giant dragonflies was used for apparel and decoration, and could be quite valuable if properly preserved.
==Larva==
The larva of the giant dragonfly appeared to be toothless and inoffensive creatures that hid during their metamorphosis into adults. However, when provoked by creatures nearby, they would attack from their hiding places with their hard and very functional mandibles.
==Behavior==
Always on the lookout for new prey, giant dragonflies were known to hunt humans and their like, thus posing a threat to the unwary. They would dart in and bite with their mandibles, then fly away and around so as to always face their opponents.
If their opponents were small or tiny, they would try to scoop them into their leg baskets and then simply devour them while on the wing.
Giant dragonflies living in the Dead Marsh of T'u Lung, usually hunted the native giant carp for food.
==Ecology==
Giant dragonflies were found from temperate to warm climes and lived in marshy areas and other watery areas.
===Relationships===
Female giant dragonflies could with time and effort be trained to allow people to ride them as flying mounts, if trained from hatching, while the males were far too territorial. Those who preferred to ride flying vermin, especially if they were raiders or bandits, preferred the giant dragonfly as they were rather docile compared to other fliers of such sort and had a very distinct thrumming sound that would announce the raiders' presence to the common people, striking fear and terror.
In 1358 DR, a jiki-ketsu-gaki who laired in the Dead Marsh, had a group of five giant dragonflies under his command that he used to hunt down humans.
The Witchlight Carnival used giant dragonflies to give flights to attendees.
==Appendix==
===See Also===
* Redwing: a massive dragonfly-like creature used for transportation in High Imaskar.
* Sapphire dragonfly: a blue dragonfly that could be found in northwest Faerûn.
===Appearances===
===References===