A few years ago Deb wrote about a swarm of dragonflies that pass through each year. Sadly for the past few years we have not seen them. Of course we see the occasional singular dragon fly, but for some time that is all we have seen. That is until this past weekend...
There they were, flitting and flying about in a swarm of activity, busy as could be, not even landing for a second. Of course this made photographing them a tad difficult. So I decided to learn a little more about them to fill in the details my camera could not catch.
I found out that dragonflies are not actually flies at all, but belong to a completely different order of insect called Odonata (meaning "toothed"). They are also one of the oldest insects to still inhabit the earth, calling this place home for almost 300 million years. Although back then their wingspan measured almost three feet! Can you imagine a three foot insect flying towards you at 30 miles per hour? (Believe it or not, that's actually how fast some dragonflies can go.) It's crazy!
The list of amazing facts about these critters goes on and on, but here are a few more that I found fascinating:
- Dragonflies spend most of their life as larva in water, it is only the last few weeks or possibly months that spend flying around, and this is for mating purposes.
- World wide, there are over 5,000 species of dragonflies, with around 400 residing in the U.S.
- Young dragonflies, called nymphs, have a special appendage on their heads that works as a spear to catch small fish.
- When you see dragonflies travel in in swarms it is often related to a change in the weather, such as a cold front moving in, and in some cases it is due to migration.
- Although harmless to humans, dragonflies have been feared for centuries. One of the legends surrounding them warns not to sleep outside as your eyes may be sewn shut by the "darning needle" (i.e. their long bodies look like needles).Luckily for us, myths such as this one have been dispelled.
With all this information though, I think my favorite fact would be their natural curiosity. In fact they are quite curious about humans, and will often give you a close up look at their beautiful wings and brightly colored bodies with out a second thought. Too bad the changing weather this weekend kept them up in the air...
... however I found a great little video that did catch them at rest, enjoy!
*Last time in Nature: Garden Update