Dragonflies Pictures and Photos - Photography - Bird | Wildlife

Classification (Anisozygoptera)

Formerly, the Anisoptera were given suborder rank beside the "ancient dragonflies" (Anisozygoptera) which were believed to contain the two living species of the genus Epiophlebia and numerous fossil ones. More recently it turned out that the "anisozygopterans" form a paraphyletic assemblage of morphologically primitive relatives of the Anisoptera. Thus, the Anisoptera (true dragonflies) are reduced to an infraorder in the new suborder Epiprocta (dragonflies in general). The artificial grouping Anisozygoptera is disbanded, its members being largely recognized as extinct offshoots at various stages of dragonfly evolution. The two living species formerly placed there "? the Asian relict dragonflies "? form the infraorder Epiophlebioptera alongside Anisoptera.

Flight speed

Tillyard claimed to have recorded the Southern Giant Darner flying at nearly 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) in a rough field measurement.[2] However, the greatest reliable flight speed records are for other types of insects.[3] In general, large dragonflies like the hawkers have a maximum speed of 10"?15 metres per second (22"?34 mph) with average cruising speed of about 4.5 metres per second (10 mph).[4]

Dragonflies and damselflies Common Bluetail Damselfly

Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera), typically being smaller than dragonflies, are sometimes confused with newly moulted dragonflies. However, once a dragonfly moults, it is already fully grown. There are other distinctions that set them apart: most damselflies hold their wings at rest together above the torso or held slightly open above (such as in the family Lestidae), whereas most dragonflies at rest hold their wings perpendicular to their body, horizontally or occasionally slightly down and forward. Also, the back wing of the dragonfly broadens near the base, caudal to the connecting point at the body, while the back wing of the damselfly is similar to the front wing. The eyes on a damselfly are apart; in most dragonflies the eyes touch. Notable exceptions are the Petaluridae (Petaltails) and the Gomphidae (Clubtails).

The largest living odonate by wingspan is actually a damselfly from South America, Megaloprepus caerulatus (Drury, 1782) while the second largest are females of the dragonfly Tetracanthagyna plagiata (Wilson, 2009). The female T. plagiata is probably the heaviest living odonate.[5]

Common species Broad-bodied Chaser A Tau Emerald Hemicordulia tau in mid flight Northern hemisphere

Emperor, Anax imperator
Keeled Skimmer, Orthetrum coerulescens
Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum
Common Whitetail, Libellula lydia
Migrant Hawker, Aeshna mixta
Azure Hawker, Aeshna caerulea
Southern Hawker, Aeshna cyanea
Norfolk Hawker, Aeshna isosceles
Common Hawker, Aeshna juncea
Red-veined Darter, Sympetrum fonscolombii
Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum
Vagrant Darter, Sympetrum vulgatum

Yellow-winged Darter, Sympetrum flaveolum
Broad-bodied Chaser, Libellula depressa
Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata
Scarce Chaser, Libellula fulva
Green Darner, Anax junius
Downy Emerald, Cordulia aenea
Blue-eyed Darner, Aeshna multicolor
Roseate Skimmer, Orthemis ferruginea
Widow Skimmer, Libellula luctuosa
Great Pondhawk, Erythemis vesiculosa
Comet Darner, Anax longipes
Banded Pennant, Celithemis fasciata
Texas Emerald, Somatochlora margarita

Southern hemisphere Kirby's Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi) in Tsumeb, Namibia. Flame Skimmer

Glistening Demoiselle Phaon iridipennis
Dancing Jewel Platycypha caligata
Mountain Malachite Chlorolestes fasciatus
Common Spreadwing Lestes plagiatus
Common Threadtail Elattoneura glauca
Goldtail Allocnemis leucosticta
Swamp Bluet Africallagma glaucum
Pinhey's Whisp Agriocnemis pinheyi
Black-tailed Bluet Azuragrion nigridorsum
Common Citril Ceriagrion glabrum
Yellow-faced Sprite Pseudagrion citricola
Gambel's Sprite Pseudagrion gamblesi
Hagen's Sprite Pseudagrion hageni
Hamon's Sprite Pseudagrion hamoni
Kersten's Sprite Pseudagrion kersteni
Masai Sprite Pseudagrion massaicum
Powdered Sprite Pseudagrion spernatum
Orange Emperor Anax speratus
Common Thorntail Ceratogomphus pictus
Southern Yellowjack Notogomphus praetorius
Ivory Pintail Acisoma trifidum
Banded Groundling Brachythemis leucosticta
Broad Scarlet Crocothemis erythraea
Little Scarlet Crocothemis sanguinolenta
Black Percher Diplacodes lefebvrii
Black-tailed False-skimmer Nesciothemis farinosa
Two-striped Skimmer Orthetrum caffrum
Epaulet Skimmer Orthetrum chrysostigma
Julia Skimmer Orthetrum julia
Navy Dropwing Trithemis furva
Kirby's Dropwing Trithemis kirbyi
Jaunty Dropwing Trithemis stictica

Dragonflies in cultures

In Europe, dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "devil's darning needle" and "ear cutter", link them with evil or injury.[6] A Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil. Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls.[7]:25"?27 The Norwegian name for dragonflies is "Øyenstikker", which literally means Eye Poker and in Portugal they are sometimes called "Tira-olhos" (Eye snatcher). They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name gwas-y-neidr, "adder's servant".[6] 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.[8]

Dragonfly symbol on a Hopi bowl from Sikyatki archaeological site.

For some Native American tribes they represent swiftness and activity, and for the Navajo they symbolize pure water. Dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery; stylized as a double-barred cross, they appear in Hopi rock art and on Pueblo necklaces.[7]:20"?26

They also have traditional uses as medicine in Japan and China. In some parts of the world they are a food source, eaten either as adults or larvae; in Indonesia, for example, they are caught on poles made sticky with birdlime, then fried in oil as a delicacy.[6]

In the United States dragonflies and damselflies are sought out as a hobby similar to birding and butterflying, known as oding, from the dragonfly's Latin species name, odonata. Oding is especially popular in Texas, where 225 different species of odonates have been observed. With care, and with dry fingers, dragonflies can be handled and released by oders, as can be done with butterflies, though it is not encouraged.[9]

Images of dragonflies are common in Art Nouveau, especially in jewelry designs.[10] They also appear in posters by modern artists such as Maeve Harris.[11] They have also been used as a decorative motif on fabrics and home furnishings.[12] Douglas, a British motorcycle manufacturer based in Bristol, named their innovatively designed post-war 350cc flat twin model, the Dragonfly.

Japan

As a seasonal symbol in Japan, the dragonfly is associated with early and late summer and early autumn.[13]

More generally, in Japan dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness, and they often appear in art and literature, especially haiku. The love for dragonflies is reflected in the fact that there are traditional names for almost all of the 200 species of dragonflies found in and around Japan.[14] 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.[7]:38

As it symbolizes courage, boys are given the name of "Tonbo", meaning dragonfly. The shape of the archipelago of Japan, as seen on a map, is said to be that of a dragonfly. Hence the leading male character in Kiki's Delivery Service, in a non-Japanese setting, is named "Tonbo" so that the Japanese audience can identify him.

Beyond this one of Japan's former names "? ????? (Akitsushima) "? is literally an archaic form of Dragonfly Island(s).[15] This is attributed to a legend in which Japan's mythical founder, Emperor Jinmu, was bitten by a mosquito, which was then promptly eaten by a dragonfly.[16][17]