Flying dragons are having a moment. Between serving as instruments of revenge in the “Game of Thrones” TV series and sentient expressions of romance in author Rebecca Yarros’s “Fourth Wing” novels, they are here, there, and everywhere.

What about the creatures that serve as inspiration for these fantasy icons, dragonflies and damselflies? They are much like dragons — they take a long time to mature, they fly, they are fierce predators and, due to habitat loss, they too are endangered.

Winged insects, precursors to dragonflies, first appeared about 400 million years ago, long before the earliest hominoid showed up between 2 and 6 million years ago. Dragonflies and damselflies first appear in the fossil record about 225 million years ago. Both dragonflies and damselflies have two pairs of strong, transparent wings and often come in strikingly beautiful metallic colors, the kind you pay extra for at the car dealership. Dragonflies hold their wings perpendicular to their bodies, while a damselfly’s wings point straight back, parallel to its body. Both are fearsome hunters in the air and underwater. Maybe you are thinking that is impossible.

Do not those diaphanous wings impede their ability to pursue prey underwater? Surprisingly, most of a dragonfly’s life is spent underwater in nymph form. Spending up to five years below the surface in the nymphal stage, they eat fish, frogs, fly and mosquito larvae and each other. Once they metamorphosize into flying creatures most live only a few short days, with some species living a couple of months at the most.

As soon as they start flying, these creatures focus on two things: hunting and reproducing. Like skilled football cornerbacks, they have an interception-style flight pattern. They catch mosquitoes and other prey in midair by predicting where they are headed and arriving there just as their target does. This takes less energy than chasing and results in a success rate over 90%. Once energized by feeding, it is time to party. Docking like conjoined spaceships, often in a heart-shaped embrace, they hook up with the opposite sex. The female lays newly fertilized eggs either directly into water or in the soft tissue of nearby plants. In addition to being hunters, they are also the hunted, a favorite food of birds.

Dragonflies and damselflies are found on every continent. As Pangea’s land mass separated 200 million years ago, dragonflies went with every continent. In the Arctic and elsewhere above 66 degrees latitude, they can survive in permafrost for up to nine months in a frozen state. This has drawn interest from both geriatricians and fertility specialists.

If you have an opportunity, get on any body of water in a kayak or canoe. Even while you are paddling, there is a decent chance a dragonfly or damselfly will stop by to take a rest and visit.

They do not sting or bite humans, so resist the impulse to swat them away. Just enjoy their brilliant sheen without having to pay extra for the colorful display. If you can be still, they may even land on you. If you do not have access to a vessel, just sit by any body of freshwater, from a large puddle to a lake.

The hunting prowess of these beautiful creatures and their ability to anticipate the flight path of prey have drawn the attention of the military. Some entomologists are seeking to weaponize them. In 1957, Eric Frank Russell predicted this in his science fiction story “Wasp.” In “Wasp,” future Terrans use covert methods, symbolized by a havoc-wreaking insect, to fight the alien Sirian empire. Imagine the chaos a stealthy dragonfly modified to carry diseases, munitions, or surveillance equipment would cause. Undetectable until it is too late, whoever controls dragonflies controls the earth, and perhaps the universe.

Despite this dominating potential, dragonflies and damselflies, along with many other insects, are in danger.

Even in the Arctic, climate change is reducing habitat as there is less permafrost. Many biologists say that, without insects, our food web will collapse and humanity will not survive beyond three months. So, think twice before you spray your lawn with insecticide, herbicide or anti-mosquito fog. You might be destroying not only an essential link in biodiversity, but also your ability to fend off alien invaders.

Carl R. Gold (cgold@carlgoldlaw.com) is a Maryland Master Naturalist.