I happen to love dragonflies! It seems like I’m always finding varieties that I’ve never seen before. I think around 3,000 different species of dragonflies exist, but I only have pictures here of 8 different types, possibly 9. Recently, one of my sisters-in-law (Wanda) requested that I write a blog about dragonflies because they are her favorites. She said she loves to “watch them play in the sky,” and she wonders where they come from and where they go. She has observed that they suddenly appear at certain times of the year and then disappear just as quickly and that she rarely sees a dead one. About the only time I see a dead one is in the grill of my car. Anyway, I loved her questions and love dragonflies also, so I was happy to comply with her request.
Male and female dragonflies mate while flying through the air, and females will then lay eggs on a plant in the water or just drop eggs directly into the water. They prefer calmer bodies of water, like ponds and marshes, rather than rivers and streams. Dragonflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis, so they don’t have a larval stage or a pupal stage. When the eggs hatch (after maybe a week), they become nymphs, and they could remain in this stage for up to four years.
The nymphs look nothing like adult dragonflies, mostly because they have no wings. They have gills since they live underwater, and they feed on tadpoles, small fish, other insects, or even other dragonfly nymphs. If the dragonflies finish the nymph stage in early winter, they will wait until spring before emerging from the water.
When the time is right, the nymphs will emerge from the water by crawling up the stem of a plant and crack out of their exoskeletons to release their new wings. It could take hours, or even days, for their wings to harden. The first flight of a dragonfly might not be very far, but it doesn’t take long before the dragonfly is performing all sorts of aeronautical feats and flying at up to 35 miles per hour.
Adults eat other flying insects, like midges, mosquitoes, moths, butterflies, and smaller dragonflies. Besides looking for food, an adult dragonfly must mate. Males use their large compound eyes to look for females with the right flight pattern, color pattern, and size. The life span of an adult dragonfly varies according to the species, but it is probably no longer than 6 months.
The colors of young dragonflies aren’t as vivid as more mature dragonflies, and their markings aren’t as distinct either. And, as is the case with lots of animal species, adult males usually have brighter and bolder colors. This may serve as a warning to predators that the dragonfly is poisonous to them (even if it isn’t). As a dragonfly ages, its color may fade or change completely. For example, one common type changes from yellow to red.
There are so many interesting facts about dragonflies, but I can’t help but think about their life cycles and how their emergence from the water to become totally new creatures is similar to a sinner emerging from the water to begin a new life as a Christian. I think of the passage in John 3 when Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Read the whole passage in John 3:1-21. I think of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 and how he and Philip “went down into the water” for his baptism, and how “when they came up out of the water,” the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:38-39) I think of Paul’s words in Romans 6 about the “newness of life” we have after baptism into Christ. (Romans 6:3-14) What a glorious transformation! Like the dragonfly gaining its wings, we are set free – free from the sin that held us down. We can soar without that weight! Maybe the next time you see a dragonfly, you will think about that new life that is possible in Christ.
“The dragonfly is dancing,
Is on the water glancing.
She flits about with nimble wing,
The flickering, fluttering, restless thing.
Besotted chafers all admire
Her light blue, gauze-like, neat attire;
They laud her blue complexion,
And think her shape perfection…”
Heinrich Heine, “Die Libelle” (The Dragonfly)
Translated from German
Thank you!!! I LOVE THIS!!!
Thank you, Wanda! Sorry I haven’t seen this before now, but I finally have my website up again and will hopefully have time for another blog soon. This one was specifically for you!
Yet another wonderfully written article from a wonderful person!
Thank you, Lannie! I apologize that I’m just now seeing this comment. I was working full time for a couple of months and didn’t have time for my blog. Then, I finally had time again and my site was down. I’ve just now been able to access all of my posts. Thank you for reading!