A new study details how dragonflies on the hunt anticipate the movement of their prey.

Researchers found out that dragonflies track-down the movements of fruit flies (and artificial flies) with sophisticated head and body motions, and then adjust their trajectories to intercept them.

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To get the result, researchers built a fruit-fly Colosseum, complete with fake scenery and high-speed cameras. They hooked-up the butterflies to tiny versions of the reflectors used in Hollywood's motion-capture studios.

They had a difficult time building the customized fly-killing arena because dragonflies usually refuse to chase prey in a controlled and indoor setting.

"This highlights the role that internal models play in letting these creatures construct such a complex behavior," said senior author Anthony Leonardo, a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus.

Scientists previously believed dragonflies actually copied every movement of their prey and relied on their astonishing agility and speed to obtain a meal. But they underestimated dragonflies that hunt much more like intelligent birds of prey.

The research team hopes to move on to study the unique neural pathways involved in this kind of predatory behavior.

TagsDragonflies, Prey, Dragonflies Catch Prey, fruit-fly Colosseum, computational models, Insects, insect hunting