Quarantine entry #16 - April 6

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. I do not have COVID, but have been suffering from indigestion all morning. I hate my life. Period. So, let us talk about something else. How about dragonflies?

Firstly, they are some of the oldest insects ever – their ancestors, i.e. Meganeura and co. – have evolved way back in the Carboniferous, and since then, the modern dragonflies have changed little, aside from size, of course. The ancient Meganeura was the size/had the wingspan of a modern eagle! Next?

Next, aside from dragonflies proper, there are also damselflies. They are small, slightly built dragonflies, which, unlike most of the species, rest not with their wings spread out to their sides, but folded over their backs, as the butterflies do. Moths, on the other hand, rest with their wings flaring out, just as the dragonflies do. And speaking of dragonflies, they are proportionally better and faster fliers than the damselflies are, they are physically bigger, more formidable.

This brings us to their larvae. As far as insects go, dragonflies have an incomplete metamorphosis – they have no pupa stage, as the butterflies, moths and mosquitoes do, for example. However, unlike the grasshoppers and locusts, the dragonfly larvae are very different from the adults: they are aquatic, they live underwater, and they move by jet propulsion, not unlike as the marine cephalopod mollusks do. They breathe through gills, but for their final molt, they leave water, climb onto rushes or some other tall plants, and molt into mature insects. This is a process not unlike that of tadpoles and frogs, only more abrupt. And yes, dragonfly larvae, (not damselfly) eat tadpoles, just as the adult frogs eat adult dragonflies.

…Not that the dragonfly larvae are so formidable themselves – other water animals eat them, such as the bigger diving beetle species. Next?

The dragonfly larvae do have a secret weapon – their lower jaw can extend and grasp its prey, bringing it to the rest of the mouth from a distance. Nature can certainly be weird! What next?

…My stomach problems have subsided slightly for now, and nature’s bounty has not really come back to our piece of American suburbia. Maybe it is too early for them, which brings us back to the dragonflies – so far, there aren’t any. There are some early flies, and bees, and mosquitoes, but not dragonflies. They probably have not molted into their adult winged forms, for as I said before, there are some early flies and mosquitoes already, which the dragonfly adults eat. Their jaws don’t extend as their larvae’s do, but they got legs, specialized to trapping and catching other insects in mid-air; they aren’t very useful for walking, but adult dragonflies hardly ever walk – they’ve evolved to be aerial hunters, period. Among the vertebrates, only the swifts, (look slightly like swallows, but much closer related to hummingbirds), probably are proper comparisons: these birds cannot get off the ground, (while the swallows can), but their aerial acrobatics are astounding!.. Nature sure can be awesome. Anything else?

Sadly, no. We are mostly stuck inside, and does anyone care that the dragonflies may be flying so fast that they have evolved motion camouflage? No? And what about their popularity in jewelry? Yeah, that is warmer, but still no cigar. Fair enough, and there is no superhero with dragonfly powers, at least I do not think so. Pity. (There are several Marvel supervillains named that, but they are all minor characters, so we will not be mentioning them anytime soon).

…Well, this is it for now. See you all soon!