Dragonflies can reach speeds of 45 miles per hour so I was fortunate to catch this fellow at rest. He turned his head, gazed at me, and cooperated long enough for me to fire off 4 shots before continuing on his journey.
My first thought when I saw this dragonfly land above my purple basil plant is "ET phone home" from the 80's movie ET. If you don't know what I'm talking about rent it. It's adorable! There's something about this insect's bulging 3 dimensional eyeballs, that contain thousands of tiny lenses, and the shape of its face that reminds me of the iconic martian.
Since I've welcomed wildlife into my yard I've become slightly less terrified of some insects. I stress some...Not cured of my extreme bugophobic-ness but I'm able to actually peer into the faces of bumblebees, dragonflies, and recently I collected a shot of 2 yellow and red speckled butterflies eating simultaneously on a Hibiscus flower. (next post)
Dragonflies have been around for 300 million years. One of the oldest and largest fossils had a wingspan of nearly 3 feet. Not sure I would have pointed a camera at one that size!
My compassion for creepy crawlers has even extended to gently scooping up spiders from inside the house and releasing them. And, helping an earthworm complete his steamy trek across a blazing hot sidewalk so it could nestle back into the soft moist soil.
Dragonflies represent a symbolism for change, renewal, maturity, happiness, swiftness, good luck or new beginnings, depending on which culture you're reading about. A tall order for an organism who begins his life as a mere tadpole in the underwater abyss, dependent on water for life. Over the next few years, the nymph matures into an iridescent force of nature, who emerges into the light and rapidly launches a life on land that will only last for a few more weeks.
I was fascinated but sad to learn that when you see a fully winged creature like this one flitting around feasting and basking in the sun, that they are close to the end of their time on this earth. A fact that illustrates another symbol - living in the moment and living each one to the fullest. When you have so few there's no time to waste, hense the frenetic pace of these colorful insects.
Not sure if he's saying, "enough, no more pictures," or acting like a model in motion who's working it...
Their four wings provide them the ability to gracefully navigate in 6 directions showing the ability to adapt and be flexible in any given situation.They can move forward, backward, sideways, straight up, down, and hover like a hummingbird for up to a minute.
The dragonfly's head is consumed by eyes, giving it 360 degree sight, which creates quite a challenge for predators trying to capture it. It's comical to watch the mockingbird, who is a very skilled hunter, in his futile attempt at a sneak attack on the swift, agile dragonfly. Imagine if you practiced such in depth vision, how many predatory experiences could you avoid? And what an amazing future you could produce!
I used to quickly roll up the car window when a dragonfly approached, or duck under the water when they'd hover over the pool, or swat them away in fear of a nasty bite. Now, I've developed a new respect for their efforts in reducing the mosquito population, their vibrant beauty, and their valiant energy to accomplish so much in such a short adult life!
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