BBC Focus Magazine

[Shadowwolf]

The mere presence of a predator causes enough stress to kill a dragonfly, even when the predator cannot actually get at its prey to eat it, say biologists at the University of Toronto.

"How prey respond to the fear of being eaten is an important topic in ecology, and we've learned a great deal about how these responses affect predator and prey interactions," says Professor Locke Rowe, chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and co-principal investigator of a study conducted at U of T's Koffler Scientific Reserve.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111027125241.htm

[Lateralman]

Hardly surprising. Have you seen what these monsters look like close up? I wonder if their smell matches their appearance. Has there ever been any research produced on insect smells?

Then again, how does the prey know that they are prey and not a predator?