Dragonflies

Dragonflies are among my favorite insects. Nothing flies quite like a dragonfly, swooping, swerving, climbing, diving, and hovering. Dragonflies aviate like skateboarders of the sky. Dragonflies have four wings and can operate each wing independently.

Insects were the first creatures to leave the sea and crawl onto land. Much later, millions of years later, other insects were the first creatures to leave the earth for the sky. These promethean Permian pilot pioneers included a dragonfly prototype called Meganeura with a wingspan of almost 3 feet.

Environmentalists refer to something known as the Gaia Effect, a stabilizing balance which helps maintain life on earth. Proponents of the theory point out that since plants have crawled onto land, we can find proof of fire throughout the fossil record. This means that the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere never dropped below 15 % or the fires would never start. Conversely if the oxygen levels rose above 34% the fires would never extinguish. Gaia Effect proponents believe there is something within the collective life force which is helping to regulate the atmosphere and keep it stable. Even minor fluctuations in the oxygen content can have dramatic effects.

During the Pennsylvanian period, the oxygen content rose to 28%. It is no coincidence that this is when Meganeura and other insects first conquered the sky. This super charged atmosphere was a boom time for botany and biology as they spread across the interiors of continents for the first time with forests of fifty foot tall ferns, giant millipedes, scorpions as big as wolves, and dragonflies as big as eagles.

Dragonflies are acrobatic predators, and their incredible flying skills allow them to grab other flying insects out of the sky. Dragonflies are known for their territorial behavior. They defend their territories from each other, other species of dragonflies, and even other insects. They often reside and defend turf near bodies of water. A favorite perch with a good view of hunting grounds can often inspire dragonfly battle all day long. Although they are strong and ferocious their tiny size also makes dragonflies prey for many other much larger creatures such as fish, fast moving birds like kestrels, reptiles, amphibians such as frogs and mammals like raccoons.

Dragonflies can fly at speeds of 22- 34 miles an hour. Some species even migrate across oceans. A big part of dragonfly ariel acrobats are their amazing eyes. Dragonfly eyes are compound and consist of thousands of lenses working together. To handle the airborne acrobatics over 80% of their brains are dedicated to eyesight.

We think of the creature as a dragonfly but like many insects the beast spends its life in many stages. Life for a dragonfly begins as an egg, is followed by a pupae stage and then onto life as an underwater nymph known as a naiad. Like the adults, the nymphs are voracious predators. The largest dragonfly nymphs even feed on tadpoles and small fish. Some species of naiad even venture short distances onto land to hunt small arthropods. There are recorded instances of dragonfly nymphs leaping out of the water to attack and kill frogs on trees.

We think of the creature as a dragonfly, but they take on this form for only a short period. Some species are adults for only a few days. The longest live as flying creatures for only 10 weeks but some species live underwater as nymphs for years. Only the adults can procreate and after looking it up all I want to say is dragonfly sex is very complicated and extremely weird.

There are over 3,000 species of dragonfly around the planet, and they live on every continent in the world except for Antarctica. Dragonfly populations are densest around the equators but have been most closely studied in North America and Europe. As wetlands and other habitat disappears it is believed that many species are going extinct before they can even be named.

Many different cultures have traditions and folklore concerning dragonflies. In China, dragonflies are considered symbols of change and transformation. Dragonflies have been a favorite of Japanese poets writing haiku. The native peoples in the American southwest feature dragonflies in pottery designs. At a Hopi jewelry store I bought my girlfriend a dragonfly pendant. The Hopi salesperson told me that in her culture dragonflies are considered messengers from God. Tina never takes off her pendant. I like to imagine Tina walking down the street, protected by a fierce animal spirit, a territorial dragonfly guarding her precious presence and carrying messages and prayers to and from God.