A blue-glazed faience dragonfly amulet was found by Flinders Petrie at Lahun, from the Late Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Many Native American tribes consider dragonflies to be medicine animals that had special powers. For example, the southwester tribes, including the Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni, associated dragonflies with transformation. They referred to dragonflies as "snake doctors" because they believed dragonflies followed snakes into the ground and healed them if they were injured. For the Navajo, dragonflies symbolize pure water. Often stylized in a double-barred cross design, dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery, as well as Hopi rock art and Pueblo necklaces.
In culture
Dragonfly
Dragonfly | In culture
Many Native American tribes consider dragonflies to be medicine animals that had special powers. Native American tribes consider dragonflies to be medicine animals that had special powers In Japan, they are symbols of rebirth, courage, strength, and happiness. Many Native American tribes consider dragonflies to be medicine animals that had special powers.
what are the life stages of a dragonfly
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Dragonflies are hemimetabolous insects; they do not have a pupal stage and undergo an incomplete metamorphosis with a series of nymphal stages from which the adult emerges.
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what are they ?
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It is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera.
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any conservation efforts to protect it ?
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In 1997, the International Union for Conservation of Nature set up a status survey and conservation action plan for dragonflies.
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talk about their coloration ?
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It is often a combination of yellow, red, brown, and black pigments, with structural colours.
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what are its behavior patterns ?
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Many dragonflies, particularly males, are territorial. Some defend a territory against others of their own species, some against other species of dragonfly and a few against insects in unrelated groups.
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what about its sex ratios ?
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The sex ratio of male to female dragonflies varies both temporally and spatially.
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what are their flight speeds ?
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It can travel at 100 body-lengths per second in forward flight, and three lengths per second backwards.
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what are their cultural references ?
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As a seasonal symbol in Japan, the dragonflies are associated with season of autumn. In Japan, they are symbols of rebirth, courage, strength, and happiness. They are also depicted frequently in Japanese art and literature, especially "haiku" poetry. Japanese children catch large dragonflies as a game, using a hair with a small pebble tied to each end, which they throw into the air. The dragonfly mistakes the pebbles for prey, gets tangled in the hair, and is dragged to the ground by the weight.
Dragonfly | In culture
In later times, this custom became seen as a mark of archaism. For some Native American tribes, dragonflies represent swiftness and activity; for the Navajo, they symbolize pure water. They are a common motif in Zuni pottery; stylized as a double-barred cross, they appear in Hopi rock art and on Pueblo necklaces. Among the classical names of Japan are "Akitsukuni" (秋津国), "Akitsushima" (秋津島), "Toyo-akitsushima" (豊秋津島). "Akitu" or "akidu" are archaic or dialectal Japanese words for dragonfly, so one interpretation of "Akitsushima" is "Dragonfly Island". This is attributed to a legend in which Japan's mythical founder, Emperor Jinmu, was bitten by a mosquito, which was then eaten by a dragonfly.
Insects in mythology | Symbols, amulets and omens
For some Native American tribes, dragonflies represent swiftness and activity; for the Navajo, they symbolize pure water. They are a common motif in Zuni pottery; stylized as a double-barred cross, they appear in Hopi rock art and on Pueblo necklaces. Images of dragonflies are common in Art Nouveau, especially in jewellery designs.
Insects in art | Dragonflies
Dragonflies are powerful and agile fliers, capable of migrating across the sea, moving in any direction, and changing direction suddenly. In flight, the adult dragonfly can propel itself in six directions: upward, downward, forward, backward, to left and to right. They have four different styles of flight: A number of flying modes are used that include counter-stroking, with forewings beating 180° out of phase with the hindwings, is used for hovering and slow flight. This style is efficient and generates a large amount of lift; phased-stroking, with the hindwings beating 90° ahead of the forewings, is used for fast flight.
Dragonfly | Flight
Several years of their lives are spent as nymphs living in fresh water; the adult stage of some dragonflies may be as long as ten weeks, but most species have an adult lifespan on the order of five weeks or less, and some last only a few days. They are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and often live near water. They have a uniquely complex mode of reproduction involving indirect insemination, delayed fertilization, and sperm competition. During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male's secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming the "heart" or "wheel" posture.
Dragonfly | Introduction
This style creates more thrust, but less lift than counter-stroking; synchronised-stroking, with forewings and hindwings beating together, is used when changing direction rapidly, as it maximises thrust; and gliding, with the wings held out, is used in three situations: free gliding, for a few seconds in between bursts of powered flight; gliding in the updraft at the crest of a hill, effectively hovering by falling at the same speed as the updraft; and in certain dragonflies such as darters, when "in cop" with a male, the female sometimes simply glides while the male pulls the pair along by beating his wings.
Dragonfly | Flight
Eventually, he became so tiny and shriveled that he turned into the first cicada. In an ancient Sumerian poem, a fly helps the goddess Inanna when her husband Dumuzid is being chased by "galla" demons. Flies also appear on Old Babylonian seals as symbols of Nergal, the god of death and fly-shaped lapis lazuli beads were often worn by many different cultures in ancient Mesopotamia, along with other kinds of fly-jewellery. The Akkadian "Epic of Gilgamesh" contains allusions to dragonflies, signifying the impossibility of immortality. Amongst the Arrernte Aborigines of Australia, honey ants and witchety grubs served as personal clan totems.
Human interactions with insects | In mythology and folklore
E. Bates described the rapid, agile flight of dragonflies in his 1937 nonfiction book "Down the River":
Dragonfly | In poetry and literature
Old and unreliable claims are made that dragonflies such as the southern giant darner can fly up to . However, the greatest reliable flight speed records are for other types of insects. In general, large dragonflies like the hawkers have a maximum speed of with average cruising speed of about . Dragonflies can travel at 100 body-lengths per second in forward flight, and three lengths per second backwards.
Dragonfly | Flight speed
As a seasonal symbol in Japan, the dragonfly is associated with autumn, and more generally dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness, and they often appear in Japanese art and literature, especially "haiku". In Europe, dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "horse-stinger", "devil's darning needle", and "ear cutter", link them with evil or injury. Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls. The Norwegian name for dragonflies is "Øyenstikker" ("eye-poker"), and in Portugal, they are sometimes called "tira-olhos" ("eyes-snatcher"). They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name "gwas-y-neidr", "adder's servant".
Insects in mythology | Symbols, amulets and omens
Chinese classic texts frequently mention "feilong" "flying dragons". The examples below are roughly arranged in chronological order, although some heterogeneous texts are of uncertain dates.
Feilong | Early references
Additionally, in traditional Chinese culture the butterfly is seen as an analogy of female consciousness. This series represents women penetrating in men's product area. These works are executed in an instantly recognisable style, using bright primary colors.
Cao Dan | Introduction
As a medium-sized dragonfly "G. flavipes" is 50–55 mm long and with an average wingspan of 70–80 mm. The eyes are widely separated, this is a typical genus-specific feature, males have blue while females have green eyes. Both sexes have predominantly yellow legs and the males has thin angled appendages, while his 10th segment is entirely black dorsally.
Gomphus flavipes | Morphology
The critics Larry Silver and Pamela H. Smith write that the image provides "an explicit link between heaven and earth.. to suggest a cosmic resonance between sacred and profane, celestial and terrestrial, macrocosm and microcosm."
The Holy Family with the Dragonfly | Insect
Dragonfly wings behave highly dynamically during flight, flexing and twisting during each beat. Among the variables are wing curvature, length and speed of stroke, angle of attack, forward/back position of wing, and phase relative to the other wings.
Dragonfly | Flight
Lafcadio Hearn wrote in his 1901 book "A Japanese Miscellany" that Japanese poets had created dragonfly "haiku" "almost as numerous as are the dragonflies themselves in the early autumn." The poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) wrote "haiku" such as "Crimson pepper pod / add two pairs of wings, and look / darting dragonfly", relating the autumn season to the dragonfly. Hori Bakusui (1718–1783) similarly wrote "Dyed he is with the / Colour of autumnal days, / O red dragonfly." The poet Lord Tennyson, described a dragonfly splitting its old skin and emerging shining metallic blue like "sapphire mail" in his 1842 poem "The Two Voices", with the lines "An inner impulse rent the veil / Of his old husk: from head to tail / Came out clear plates of sapphire mail." The novelist H.
Dragonfly | In poetry and literature
A blue-glazed faience dragonfly amulet was found by Flinders Petrie at Lahun, from the Late Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Many Native American tribes consider dragonflies to be medicine animals that had special powers. For example, the southwester tribes, including the Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni, associated dragonflies with transformation. They referred to dragonflies as "snake doctors" because they believed dragonflies followed snakes into the ground and healed them if they were injured. For the Navajo, dragonflies symbolize pure water. Often stylized in a double-barred cross design, dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery, as well as Hopi rock art and Pueblo necklaces.
Dragonfly | In culture
In most large species of dragonflies, the wings of females are shorter and broader than those of males. The legs are rarely used for walking, but are used to catch and hold prey, for perching, and for climbing on plants. Each has two short basal joints, two long joints, and a three-jointed foot, armed with a pair of claws. The long leg joints bear rows of spines, and in males, one row of spines on each front leg is modified to form an "eyebrush", for cleaning the surface of the compound eye.
Dragonfly | General description
Hori Bakusui (1718–1783) similarly wrote "Dyed he is with the / Colour of autumnal days, / O red dragonfly." The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson described a dragonfly splitting its old skin and emerging shining metallic blue like "sapphire mail" in his 1842 poem "The Two Voices", with the lines "An inner impulse rent the veil / Of his old husk: from head to tail / Came out clear plates of sapphire mail."
Insects in literature | Harmony with nature
The river clubtail or yellow-legged dragonfly ("Gomphus flavipes") is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is found in Europe. Its natural habitat are rivers and large streams. The dragonfly flies from June to September depending on the location.
Gomphus flavipes | Introduction
A dragonfly is a flying insect of the order Odonata. Dragonfly or DragonFly may also refer to:
Dragonfly (disambiguation) | Introduction
The wings are powered directly, unlike most families of insects, with the flight muscles attached to the wing bases. Dragonflies have a high power/weight ratio, and have been documented accelerating at 4 G linearly and 9 G in sharp turns while pursuing prey. Dragonflies generate lift in at least four ways at different times, including classical lift like an aircraft wing; supercritical lift with the wing above the critical angle, generating high lift and using very short strokes to avoid stalling; and creating and shedding vortices. Some families appear to use special mechanisms, as for example the Libellulidae which take off rapidly, their wings beginning pointed far forward and twisted almost vertically.
Dragonfly | Flight
The poet W. B. Yeats wrote "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" (1888) with the honey bee couplet "Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee, / And live alone in the bee loud glade", while he was living in Bedford Park, London. Lafcadio Hearn wrote in his 1901 book "A Japanese Miscellany" that Japanese poets had created dragonfly "haiku" "almost as numerous as are the dragonflies themselves in the early autumn." The poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) wrote "haiku" such as "Crimson pepper pod / add two pairs of wings, and look / darting dragonfly", relating the autumn season to the dragonfly.
Insects in literature | Harmony with nature
Scarab beetles held religious and cultural symbolism in Old Egypt, Greece and some shamanistic Old World cultures. The ancient Chinese regarded cicadas as symbols of rebirth or immortality. In Mesopotamian literature, the epic poem of Gilgamesh has allusions to Odonata that signify the impossibility of immortality. Among the Aborigines of Australia of the Arrernte language groups, honey ants and witchetty grubs served as personal clan totems. In the case of the 'San' bush-men of the Kalahari, it is the praying mantis that holds much cultural significance including creation and zen-like patience in waiting.
Insect | In culture
1.Agriomorpha fusca at www.asia-dragonfly.net
Agriomorpha fusca | References
When they first emerge, both sexes appear pale green with brown markings. The legs are brown with a yellow like base. Wings are born black but grow yellow-brown with age. Males have a sky blue abdomen marked with a diagnostic black dorsal stripe and an apple green thorax. The thorax and head of a male is green and their prominent eyes are blue. Females have similar markings but they are mainly green.
Emperor (dragonfly) | Identification
Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each. Fossils of very large dragonfly ancestors in the Protodonata are found from 325 million years ago (Mya) in Upper Carboniferous rocks; these had wingspans up to about . There are about 3,000 extant species. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Dragonflies are predators, both in their aquatic larval stage, when they are known as nymphs or naiads, and as adults.
Dragonfly | Introduction
Anotogaster sieboldii, as known as golden-ringed dragonfly, jumbo dragonfly, Siebold's dragonfly or in Japanese, 無霸勾蜓 in Chinese and 장수잠자리("jang-su-jamjari", means 'General Dragonfly') in Korean is the largest species of dragonfly native to Eastern Asia, especially Japan, Taiwan, China, Korean Peninsula. It can grow between 95 and 100 mm in length.
Anotogaster sieboldii | Introduction
A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera (from Greek ἄνισος "anisos", "unequal" and πτερόν "pteron", "wing", because the hindwing is broader than the forewing). Adult dragonflies are characterized by large, multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold the wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight.
Dragonfly | Introduction
This dragonfly is 24 to 34 millimeters long, with a hindwing 25 to 30 millimeters long. It can be identified by the brown spots at the bases and tips of the wings. The pterostigma is yellow in younger individuals, and red in older. The face is yellow, turning red in older male specimens. The thorax is yellow-brown with a large dark stripe and several smaller brown stripes. The abdomen is dark with paler markings.
Celithemis elisa | Description
In Chinese culture, excellent and outstanding people are compared to a dragon, while incapable people with no achievements are compared to other, disesteemed creatures, such as a worm. A number of Chinese proverbs and idioms feature references to a dragon, such as "Hoping one's child will become a dragon" (). Affiliated Chinese surnames include and 龍 / 龙 (Dragon).
Chinese dragon | Introduction
In the traditional Navajo religion, Big Fly is an important spirit being. Lafcadio Hearn's essay "Butterflies" analyses the treatment of the butterfly in Japanese literature, both prose and poetry. He notes that these often allude to Chinese tales, such as of the young woman that the butterflies took to be a flower. Among the brief 17-syllable Japanese Haiku poems about butterflies, of which he translates 22, one by the Haiku master Matsuo Bashō is said to suggest happiness in springtime: "Wake up! Wake up!—I will make thee my comrade, thou sleeping butterfly." Another compares the butterfly's shape to a Japanese silk upper-dress, the "haori", "being taken off".
Insects in literature | The spirit world
The females cannot yet be told apart. The length of this dragonfly is from and the span of the hindwings is .
Brachythemis impartita | Description
It is a large dragonfly characterized by its homogeneous colouring of dull browns and greens, by its long and thin anal appendages, and by its crepuscular habits. Its principal food appears to be mosquitoes and microlepidoptera. During the day it rests in dark thickets. Fully matured specimens have bright colours; blues and greens developing very late in life. Young specimens have brown color with some dark shades. Females are exactly similar to the males in colors and markings. It is very closely related to "G. subinterrupta" and it is difficult to distinguish them. But the relative lengths of the superior and inferior anal appendages are different.
Gynacantha dravida | Description and habitat
They are often seen flying leisurely over mountain streams or a river; they also occasionally show up at a pond. They are also typically seen flying over heath land. Their bright yellow and black stripes make them easy to identify, even from a fair distance away. They feed mainly on insects ranging from small prey such as midges to flies, butterflies and even bumblebees. This strikingly-coloured insect is incredibly aerobatic and they sometimes fly very high up into the sky.
Golden-ringed dragonfly | Behaviour
The thorax bears two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs. The wings are long, veined, and membranous, narrower at the tip and wider at the base. The hindwings are broader than the forewings and the venation is different at the base. The veins carry haemolymph, which is analogous to blood in vertebrates and carries out many similar functions, but which also serves a hydraulic function to expand the body between nymphal stages (instars) and to expand and stiffen the wings after the adult emerges from the final nymphal stage. The leading edge of each wing has a node where other veins join the marginal vein, and the wing is able to flex at this point.
Dragonfly | General description
Thus, the "house-fly", "crane-fly" and "blow-fly" would be true flies, while the "dragonfly", "scorpion fly" and so on belong to other orders. He also debunked the calculation that a single pair of house-flies, if allowed to reproduce without inhibitions could, within nine months, number 5.6×10 individuals, enough to cover the Earth to a thickness of 14.3 m (47 ft). Oldroyd calculated that such a layer would only cover Germany, but remarked "that is still a lot of flies". "All the following lists are potentially incomplete. Please add to them if you know of more."
Harold Oldroyd | Introduction
Thanks to the mystical rays of Zzara, Dragonfly is given an idealized body that can fly (she can reach speeds of Mach 4), super-strength, and the ability to move objects with her mind.
Dragonfly (AC Comics) | Powers and abilities
In Dürer's Germany, Mary and Jesus were grounded and human, making them highly sympathetic for mere mortals. That meant tender scenes such as this were extremely popular. Dürer made many prints of this theme to be sold in shops and by traveling salesmen so worshipers could paste them into books or attach them to walls as devotional objects.
The Holy Family with the Dragonfly | History
Males that were found to have the highest FMR had the least amount of gut contents, and in turn less fat reserves. This means that the male dragonflies are making a tradeoff between flight ability and longevity, which may affect long-term mating success. The act of copulation begins with the male clasping the neck of the female. The female then bends her abdomen forward into the secondary genitalia of the male, which is located on the second abdominal segment. Once the female has moved into this position (known as the "wheel position"), the male is able to remove the sperm of any prior mates, and transfer his own sperm to the female.
Common whitetail | Mating
A female must mate with the territory holder before laying her eggs. There is also conflict between the males and females. Females may sometimes be harassed by males to the extent that it affects their normal activities including foraging and in some dimorphic species females have evolved multiple forms with some forms appearing deceptively like males. In some species females have evolved behavioural responses such as feigning death to escape the attention of males. Similarly, selection of habitat by adult dragonflies is not random, and terrestrial habitat patches may be held for up to 3 months. A species tightly linked to its birth site utilises a foraging area that is several orders of magnitude larger than the birth site.
Dragonfly | Behaviour
Mating in dragonflies is a complex, precisely choreographed process. First, the male has to attract a female to his territory, continually driving off rival males. When he is ready to mate, he transfers a packet of sperm from his primary genital opening on segment 9, near the end of his abdomen, to his secondary genitalia on segments 2–3, near the base of his abdomen. The male then grasps the female by the head with the claspers at the end of his abdomen; the structure of the claspers varies between species, and may help to prevent interspecific mating. The pair flies in tandem with the male in front, typically perching on a twig or plant stem.
Dragonfly | Reproduction
A true dragon horse has wings at its sides and walks upon the water without sinking. If a holy man is on the throne it comes out of the midst of the Ming river, carrying a map on its back. (tr. Visser 1913:58)
Longma | Classical references
Wilhelm 1967:371) says, "'Flying dragon in the heavens.' This shows the great man at work." Many later texts, such as the "Zuozhuan", "Shiji", and "Hanshu" histories, quote this "Flying dragons in the heavens" from the "Yijing".
Feilong | Yijing
Leptogomphus yayeyamensis is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is endemic to Japan.
Leptogomphus yayeyamensis | Introduction
The female then curls her abdomen downwards and forwards under her body to pick up the sperm from the male's secondary genitalia, while the male uses his "tail" claspers to grip the female behind the head: this distinctive posture is called the "heart" or "wheel"; the pair may also be described as being "in cop". Egg-laying (ovipositing) involves not only the female darting over floating or waterside vegetation to deposit eggs on a suitable substrate, but also the male hovering above her or continuing to clasp her and flying in tandem. The male attempts to prevent rivals from removing his sperm and inserting their own, something made possible by delayed fertilisation and driven by sexual selection.
Dragonfly | Reproduction
Fabricius coined the term "Odonata" from the Ancient Greek (Ionic form of ) 'tooth' apparently because they have teeth on their mandibles, even though most insects also have toothed mandibles. The word "dragonfly" is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but "odonate" is a more correct English name for the group as a whole. Odonata enthusiasts avoid ambiguity by using the term "true dragonfly", or simply a"nisopteran", when referring to just the Anisoptera. The term "Warriorfly" has also been proposed. Some 5,900 species have been described in this order.
Odonata | Etymology and terminology
The female mates once and stores all the sperm she needs for fertilization. If she should mate again, the second male will remove the sperm of the first male from her body with the brush-like apparatus on his specially-adapted penis. The larvae of the dragonflies hatch and eat anything they can catch, favoring a carnivorous diet of organisms smaller than themselves. Adults of the species, especially males, congregate in swarms. Some populations of this dragonfly undertake migrations. Both the larvae and adult forms are efficient predators of mosquitoes, so they are a helpful insect to have in wet areas where mosquito infestations occur.
Black saddlebags | Introduction
The (c. 4th century BCE) Confucianist "Xunzi" (1 ) first records the Classical Chinese idiom "tengshe wuzu er fei" "flying dragon is without feet yet flies", which figuratively means "success results from concentrating on one's abilities".
Teng (mythology) | Xunzi
Dave Langford reviewed "The Flight of the Dragonfly" for "White Dwarf" #68, and stated that "It's a shame that with all this seething behind his marble brow, Forward never put across the drama and visual excitement of the events he's calculated to the eleventh decimal place. As in much SF by scientists, the most interesting characters are the computers."
Rocheworld | Reception
If successful, a rival male uses his penis to compress or scrape out the sperm inserted previously; this activity takes up much of the time that a copulating pair remains in the heart posture. Flying in tandem has the advantage that less effort is needed by the female for flight and more can be expended on egg-laying, and when the female submerges to deposit eggs, the male may help to pull her out of the water. Egg-laying takes two different forms depending on the species. The female in some families has a sharp-edged ovipositor with which she slits open a stem or leaf of a plant on or near the water, so she can push her eggs inside.
Dragonfly | Reproduction
The skull-like marking on the thorax of the death's-head hawkmoth has helped these moths, particularly "A. atropos", earn a negative reputation, such as associations with the supernatural and evil. The moth has been prominently featured in art and movies such as "" (by Buñuel and Dalí) and "The Silence of the Lambs", and in the artwork of the Japanese metal band Sigh's album "Hail Horror Hail". According to "", by Lafcadio Hearn, a butterfly was seen in Japan as the personification of a person's soul; whether they be living, dying, or already dead. One Japanese superstition says that if a butterfly enters your guestroom and perches behind the bamboo screen, the person whom you most love is coming to see you.
Lepidoptera | Culture
"Hemigomphus comitatus" is a small dragonfly with black and yellow markings. Its wingspan is 50-55mm and overall length is 40-45mm. The eyes of the adult are green and do not meet at the top of the head. The head of the female has a spine from the occiput just behind the eyes. The synthorax is strongly marked with black and yellow stripes, with the humeral stripe usually being continuous. A black mark along the suture of the synthorax is usually broken above and below the metastigma. The abdomen is black with prominent yellow bands, the appendages of the male are yellow and curve inwards at the tip.
Hemigomphus comitatus | Description
The English common names "wandering glider" and "globe skimmer" refer to its migratory behaviour. The German name "Wanderlibelle" means "migrant dragonfly". In Hong Kong, its name translates as "typhoon dragonfly" as it arrives with or shortly before the seasonal rain. The Japanese name is which is translated as "yellow dragonfly with delicate wings". Similarly, the South Korean name is '된장잠자리'(translated as "doenjang dragonfly") because its colour is similar to doenjang, the Korean bean paste.
Pantala flavescens | Common name
In many places the film references classic movies, predominantly those by Disney. When Tinker Bell falls on Donkey and he says "I can fly" and people around including the Three Little Pigs say "He can fly, he can fly"; this is a reference to Disney's "Peter Pan". This scene is also a reference to the Disney film "Dumbo", where Donkey says, while flying, "You might have seen a house fly, maybe even a super fly, but I bet you ain't never seen a Donkey fly" The scene where Fiona is singing to the blue bird is a reference to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".
Shrek | Cultural references
Many flies are tied in “reverse hackle” meaning the hackle of the fly fans forward towards the eye of the hook instead of down the hook. In Japanese this is referred to as a “Sakasakebari (さかさけばり)” fly. Some rare flies used in the Okumino Itoshiro (お組の意図白尾) area even have down feathers incorporated in their design. These flies are not known to float well, so instead they are mainly used as wet flies for shallow waters. Japanese's flies are mainly tied to represent an insect that is common to an area instead of replicating insects. Americans focus more on details in their flies so the fly is a similar to the real thing as possible.
Japanese Flies | Introduction
Neurogomphus featheri is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is found in Chad, Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and rivers.
Neurogomphus featheri | Introduction
The nymph extends its hinged labium (a toothed mouthpart similar to a lower mandible, which is sometimes termed as a "mask" as it is normally folded and held before the face) that can extend forward and retract rapidly to capture prey such as mosquito larvae, tadpoles, and small fish. They breathe through gills in their rectum, and can rapidly propel themselves by suddenly expelling water through the anus. Some naiads, such as the later stages of "Antipodophlebia asthenes", hunt on land. The larval stage of dragonflies lasts up to five years in large species, and between two months and three years in smaller species.
Dragonfly | Life cycle
Asiagomphus yayeyamensis is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is endemic to Japan.
Asiagomphus yayeyamensis | Introduction
The (2nd century BCE) "Huainanzi" uses Yinglong in three chapters. "Ying" also occurs in "ganying" (lit. "sensation and response") "resonance; reaction; interaction; influence; induction", which Charles Le Blanc (1985:8-9) posits as the "Huannanzi" text's central and pivotal idea. "Forms of Earth" (4, ) explains how animal evolution originated through dragons, with Yinglong as the progenitor of quadrupeds. Carr (1990:107) notes this Responsive Dragon is usually pictured with four wings, perhaps paralleling four legs. All creatures, winged, hairy, scaly and mailed, find their origin in the dragon. The "yu-kia" () produced the flying dragon, the flying dragon gave birth to the phoenixes, and after them the "luan-niao" () and all birds, in general the winged beings, were born successively.
Yinglong | "Huainanzi"
The species name "atratus" is a Latin word meaning clothed in black. named this species of dragonfly after its blackish brown abdomen.
Hemigomphus atratus | Etymology
The planet where most of the action takes place is Bellerophon. Bellerophon is the name of a spacecraft in the classic film "Forbidden Planet" (1956), in the TV series "Andromeda", and in the series "". Bellerophon originated in Greek myth. Bellerophon has been used as a name for both British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy warships.
Trash (Firefly) | Pop culture references
From this, they drew parallels with their god Atum, who also begat children alone. In the Shinto of Japan, dragonflies are mentioned in haiku poems, for example behaving as if on pilgrimage, or gathering in the Bon festival of the dead. In the Quran, the honeybee is the only creature that speak directly to God. Mohammed wrote in the 68-69 verses: And your Lord taught the honey bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.
Insects in religion | Insect symbols
As is usual in the Libellulidae family, there is no distinct courtship ritual. The females may pair many times, but usually only once a day. After mating, the migrant dragonflies fly in tandem, with the female ovipositing while the male remains connected. A clutch consists of about 500 to 2000 eggs. The eggs are spheroid in shape with the semi-major axis 0.5 mm and 0.4 mm at the smallest points. The larvae develop within 38 to 65 days, which allows this migrant dragonfly to reproduce in temporary waters or even in swimming pools. However, the larvae seem to be very sensitive to temperature.
Pantala flavescens | Reproduction and development
A large dragonfly (length 61–64 mm; wingspan 87–91 mm). The eyes are green and the face deep yellow to greenish yellow; the upper frons has a central black spot within a yellow ring. The thorax is brown with green stripes, and the abdomen green with brown markings. The wings are slightly smoky with brown and yellow veins and reddish-brown to yellow-brown pterostigmata.
Pinheyschna subpupillata | Description
Atoconeura is a genus of dragonflies in the family Libellulidae. These dragonflies are generally about 28 to 39 millimeters long and are shiny black with yellow markings. They are native to Africa, where they are usually found along fast-flowing rivers in forested habitat at some elevation. The genus has likely been isolated in higher-altitude habitat, and most of the species are limited to highlands. Species include:
Atoconeura | Introduction
Insects have appeared in literature from classical times to the present day, an aspect of their role in culture more generally. Insects represent both positive qualities like cooperation and hard work, and negative ones like greed. Among the positive qualities, ants and bees represent industry and cooperation from the Book of Proverbs and Aesop's fables to tales by Beatrix Potter. Insects including the dragonfly have symbolised harmony with nature, while the butterfly has represented happiness in springtime in Japanese Haiku, as well as the soul of a person who has died. Insects have equally been used for their strangeness and alien qualities, with giant wasps and intelligent ants threatening human society in science fiction stories.
Insects in literature | Introduction
Cyclogomphus flavoannulatus is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is known only from the Western Ghats of India.
Cyclogomphus flavoannulatus | Introduction
It is a medium sized dragonfly with emerald-green eyes. Its thorax is metallic green with a golden reflex. There is no humeral stripe; but an oblique citron-yellow stripe bordering the antero-lateral suture, and a similar stripe on the lower posterior border of metepimeron. Beneath the side is blackish, striped with yellow. Abdomen is black. The borders of segment 2 ventrally yellow, and also a narrow incomplete annule on the apical border. Anal appendages are black. The male is easily distinguished by the shape of its anal appendages, and the female by the unique shape of its vesicle. Fraser (1936) states that most of the specimens were observed flying quite low over coffee bushes or along the borders of ferny banks.
Idionyx galeata | Description and habitat
There the ["qi"] is extremely hard, so much so that it can overcome (the strength of) human beings. As the Teacher says: "The kite (bird) flies higher and higher spirally, and then only needs to stretch its two wings, beating the air no more, in order to go forward by itself. This is because it starts gliding (lit. riding) on the 'hard wind' ["gangqi" 罡炁]. Take dragons, for example; when they first rise they go up using the clouds as steps, and after they have attained a height of forty "li" then they rush forward effortlessly (lit. automatically) (gliding)." This account comes from the adepts ["xianren" 仙人], and is handed down to ordinary people, but they are not likely to understand it.
Bamboo-copter | Introduction
Curling back upwards, it completes its emergence, swallowing air, which plumps out its body, and pumping haemolymph into its wings, which causes them to expand to their full extent. Dragonflies in temperate areas can be categorized into two groups, an early group and a later one. In any one area, individuals of a particular "spring species" emerge within a few days of each other. The springtime darner ("Basiaeschna janata"), for example, is suddenly very common in the spring, but disappears a few weeks later and is not seen again until the following year. By contrast, a "summer species" emerges over a period of weeks or months, later in the year.
Dragonfly | Life cycle
However, further studies have proven that this interpretation is incorrect with regard to the katydid. There is a poem about an insect "zhongsi" in the Book of Poetry. This insect has been used metaphorically as an auspicious symbol for having many children and grandchildren in Chinese culture. Based on the interpretations of this poem and entomological analyses, this "zhongsi" is very likely a migratory locust. The locust on the Jadeite Cabbage is too small to be positively identified as a migratory locust. However, this "katydid" is definitely a Chinese bush cricket ("Gampsocleis gratiosa") which is not the "zhongsi" of the Book of Poetry.
Jadeite Cabbage | Description
Dragonfly can fly and possesses a hypnotic gaze. Her physical appearance has also been altered giving her wings, red skin, white pupils and antennae.
Dragonfly (Marvel Comics) | Powers and abilities
A dragonfly has been genetically modified with light-sensitive "steering neurons" in its nerve cord to create a cyborg-like "DragonflEye". The neurons contain genes like those in the eye to make them sensitive to light. Miniature sensors, a computer chip and a solar panel were fitted in a "backpack" over the insect's thorax in front of its wings. Light is sent down flexible light-pipes named optrodes from the backpack into the nerve cord to give steering commands to the insect. The result is a "micro-aerial vehicle that's smaller, lighter and stealthier than anything else that's manmade".
Dragonfly | In technology
The "Critique on the Concept of Political Purchase" (, tr. Ames 1983:74) quotes Shen Dao contrasting "feilong" "flying dragon" with "tengshe" to explain "shi" "political purchase; strategic advantage". Shen Tzu said: "The flying dragon mounts the clouds and the "t'eng" snake wanders in the mists. But when the clouds dissipate and the mists clear, the dragon and the snake become the same as the earthworm and the large-winged black ant because they have lost that on which they ride. Where men of superior character are subjugated by inferior men, it is because their authority is lacking and their position is low.
Teng (mythology) | Hanfeizi
Flying dragons is the common name of gliding lizards in the genus "Draco", particularly the species "Draco volans". It may also refer to: In entertainment:
Flying dragon (disambiguation) | Introduction
Chinese classic texts frequently mention "tengshe" or "flying dragons". The examples below are roughly arranged in chronological order, although some heterogeneous texts are of uncertain dates. Only texts with English translations are cited, excluding "tengshe" occurrences in texts such as the "Guiguzi", "Shuoyuan", and "Shiji".
Teng (mythology) | Classical usages
The Australian emperor is notable as the dragonfly in which motion camouflage was studied by Mizutani et al.: males of "Anax papuensis" are fiercely territorial, and approach and attack rivals, the males choose a flight path that keeps their image as seen by the target still with respect to a landmark point. The attacking dragonfly thus looms larger in the target's eyes, but otherwise does not seem to move until it is very close. The males are very protective of their females. In case of intrusion of another individual, he will drive it away by engaging in a series of noisy air battles.
Australian emperor | Behaviour
Dragonflies are among the longest distance insect migrants. Many species of "Libellula", "Sympetrum" and "Pantala" are known for their mass migration. "Pantala flavescens" is thought to make the longest ocean crossings among insects, flying between India and Africa on their migrations. Their movements are often assisted by winds.
Insect migration | Odonata
It is a large dragonfly with its head rather broad from side to side and eyes are moderately separated with emerald green colour. Its thorax is black with three oblique bright yellow stripes. Its wings are transparent with dark brown apices and black pterostigma. Abdomen is black with yellow markings. The colour and markings of the female is very similar to the male. It is commonly found in mountains in the Western Ghats, soaring in high altitudes. The species is named after .
Chlorogomphus campioni | Description and habitat
BeetleWings are the only known dragons that are extinct. They were described to have two wings, venom shooting fangs, stingers, and possibly silk. BeetleWings likely had bright colors, similar to SilkWings and RainWings. It is believed that BeetleWings are closely related to RainWings. BeetleWings are the ancestors of modern-day SilkWings and HiveWings. Only one pure BeetleWing has been mentioned as of yet, Sunstreak.
Wings of Fire (novel series) | BeetleWings
The Gomphidae are a family of dragonflies commonly referred to as clubtails or club-tailed dragonflies. The family contains about 90 genera and 900 species found across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The name refers to the club-like widening of the end of the abdomen (abdominal segments 7 through 9). However, this club is usually less pronounced in females and is entirely absent in some species.
Gomphidae | Introduction
The flight period is from April to September but are mostly seen in May and June. Their flight is very fast as they dart and dive above the water. They are very territorial and will fight with rival males and any other dragonflies they happen to encounter. They characteristically return to a favoured perch, in the sun. When a female enters a male's territory the male will fly up and grab the female. Mating occurs on the wing and the pair are in tandem for only a brief period, often less than a minute. The pair separate and the female will find a suitable location for ovipositing, usually a stretch of open water with submerged vegetation.
Libellula depressa | Behaviour
Professor Manyuan Long of the University of Chicago named a "Drosophilia" gene (jgw) after Jingwei because it is - like the princess - "reincarnated" with a new function and a new appearance (structure). Related genes were named following Chinese mythology.
Jingwei | Fruit fly genetics
The compound eyes are made up of ommatidia, the numbers being greater in the larger species. "Aeshna interrupta" has 22650 ommatidia of two varying sizes, 4500 being large. The facets facing downward tend to be smaller. "Petalura gigantea" has 23890 ommatidia of just one size. These facets provide complete vision in the frontal hemisphere of the dragonfly. The compound eyes meet at the top of the head (except in the Petaluridae and Gomphidae, as also in the genus "Epiophlebia"). Also, they have three simple eyes or ocelli. The mouthparts are adapted for biting with a toothed jaw; the flap-like labrum, at the front of the mouth, can be shot rapidly forward to catch prey.
Dragonfly | General description
It is a dragonfly of medium size, coloured metallic green, sparingly marked with yellow. Its labium and labrum are bright yellow. Its lower part of frons and its sides are brighter yellow, changing to bright orange above and then brilliant metallic emerald-green. Its eyes are emerald-green when aged. Its pro-thorax is dark brown with a mid-dorsal yellow spot and thorax is dark metallic green, marked with yellow on the sides only. Its wings are hyaline with pterostigma dark brown. Its abdomen is glossy black with a metallic dark green reflex on dorsum, especially of the proximal segments, and marked laterally in bright ochreous color.
Hemicordulia asiatica | Description and habitat
Dragonflies and their relatives are an ancient group. The oldest fossils are of the Protodonata from the 325 Mya Upper Carboniferous of Europe, a group that included the largest insect that ever lived, "Meganeuropsis permiana" from the Early Permian, with a wingspan around ; their fossil record ends with the Permian–Triassic extinction event (about 247 Mya). The Protanisoptera, another ancestral group which lacks certain wing vein characters found in modern Odonata, lived from the Early to Late Permian age until the end Permian event, and are known from fossil wings from current day United States, Russia, and Australia, suggesting they might have been cosmopolitan in distribution.
Dragonfly | Phylogeny
Notogomphus kilimandjaricus is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and rivers.
Notogomphus kilimandjaricus | Introduction
The forewing is usually more slender and slightly longer than the hindwing. Unlike the true dragonflies, the Odonata, they had no pterostigma, and a somewhat simpler pattern of veins in the wings. Most specimens are known from wing fragments only; with only a few as complete wings, and even fewer (of the family Meganeuridae) with body impressions. These show a globose head with large dentate mandibles, strong spiny legs, a large thorax, and long and slender dragonfly-like abdomen. Like true dragonflies, they were presumably predators. A few nymphs are also known, and show mouthparts similar to those of modern dragonfly nymphs, suggesting that they were also active aquatic predators.
Meganisoptera | Introduction
Sinaeschnidia (meaning "Chinese "Aeschnidium"") is a genus of prehistoric dragonfly. "S. heishankowensis" is a common component of the Jehol Biota of northeastern China. It is known from numerous specimens, both nymphs and imagos (adults). "S. martinezdelclosi" is known from slightly earlier deposits in Las Hoyas, Spain.
Sinaeschnidia | Introduction
Those on Easter Island have adapted away from their migratory habits because to fly out to the open sea would usually mean certain death. When landing, it seeks a vertical attitude. Like all large dragonflies, the wings are held out from the body at rest.
Pantala flavescens | Flight behaviour
The sex ratio of male to female dragonflies varies both temporally and spatially. Adult dragonflies have a high male-biased ratio at breeding habitats. The male-bias ratio has contributed partially to the females using different habitats to avoid male harassment. As seen in Hine's emerald dragonfly ("Somatochlora hineana"), male populations use wetland habitats, while females use dry meadows and marginal breeding habitats, only migrating to the wetlands to lay their eggs or to find mating partners. Unwanted mating is energetically costly for females because it affects the amount of time that they are able to spend foraging.
Dragonfly | Sex ratios
The Southern United States term "snake doctor" refers to a folk belief that dragonflies follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured.
Insects in mythology | Symbols, amulets and omens
"Diplacodes trivialis" is small dragonfly with bluish eyes and greenish-yellow or olivaceous thorax and abdomen with black marks. In very old adults, the whole thorax and abdomen become uniform pruinosed blue. Clear wings, without apical or basal markings, and the creamy white anal appendages and deep pruinescence in adults help to distinguish this species from others in its genus. It breeds in ponds, wet rice fields, shallow lakes, drainage ditches and similar habitats. It is one of the most common dragonflies in Asia, found in both the plains and hills and in dry and wet areas.
Diplacodes trivialis | Description and habitat
According to Carlos Gonzalez-Ochoa, the film called for " creatures with wing spans of that could undergo enormous speeds and accelerations. The artistic direction required each dragon to have wings that transition between a variety of physical behaviors and interact with the environment."
Reign of Fire (film) | Production
The Dragonfly was capable of maintaining level flight at speeds as low as , and was claimed as being capable of landing in a distance shorter than the length of the aircraft itself.
Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly | Design
Smith argue that the image provides "an explicit link between heaven and earth ... to suggest a cosmic resonance between sacred and profane, celestial and terrestrial, macrocosm and microcosm." In his 1789 book "The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne", Gilbert White described in the entry for "June 10th, 1771" how The mayfly has come to symbolise the transitoriness and brevity of life. The English poet George Crabbe, known to have been interested in insects, compared the brief life of a newspaper with that of mayflies, both being known as "Ephemera", things that live for a day:
Mayfly | In art and literature
Unlike its longer "winged" relative "Kuehneosuchus" (which may be a species of the same genus or represent a different sexual morph), aerodynamic studies have shown that "Kuehneosaurus" was probably not a glider, but instead used its elongated ribs to parachute from the trees. A study by Stein "et al." in 2008 found that its parachuting speed, descending at a 45-degree angle, would be between 10 and 12 metres per second. Pitch was controlled by lappets (wattle-like flaps of skin) on the hyoid apparatus, as in the modern gliding lizard "Draco".
Kuehneosaurus | Introduction
Needham concludes that Ge Hong was describing helicopter tops because "'returning (or revolving) blades' can hardly mean anything else, especially in close association with a belt or strap"; and suggests that "snakes", "dragons", and "oxen" refer to shapes of man-lifting kites. Other scholars interpret this "Baopuzi" passage mythologically instead of literally, based on its context's mentioning fantastic flights through "chengqiao" (乘蹻 "riding on tiptoe/stilts") and "xian" (仙 "immortal; adept") techniques. For instance, "If you can ride the arches of your feet, you will be able to wander anywhere in the world without hindrance from mountains or rivers … Whoever takes the correct amulet and gives serious thought to the process may travel a thousand miles by concentrating his thoughts for one double hour." Compare this translation.
Bamboo-copter | Introduction
Gomphus vulgatissimus, the common clubtail, is a medium-sized (wingspan 6 –7 cm.) species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is found in most of Europe, and is present now in the south of France. Its natural habitats are clean, slow moving streaming rivers and creeks with sandy soil. It can be seen from mid-April in the south to August. Once they hatched out of water, they live shortly. As the common name suggests, this medium-sized species has a distinctive club-shaped abdomen. The males are black with extensive yellow markings on the thorax and abdomen which turn green as the insect ages.
Gomphus vulgatissimus | Introduction