Credit: Kathleen Scavone
I’m enthralled by a dragonfly as it zig zags through the air nearby. Zap! It caught a gnat while predator and prey surfed the sky. Zip! Another tasty treat for the dragonfly, then another! Next, he caught and released a too-large or otherwise unpalatable insect. As Nancy Willard states in her poem, ‘The Vanity of the Dragonfly, ‘ these insects are “Slim as an eel but a solitary glider, a pilot without bombs or weapons, and wings clear and small as a wish to see over our heads, to see the whole picture.”
Artist and author Timothy D. Manolis’ book, Dragonflies and Damselflies of California, in the California Natural History Guide series, celebrates the bright colors and intricate beauty of California’s 68 species of dragonflies. From stoplight red to glowing gold, dragonfly life is explained from larvae living in ponds to the ace pilots they become as adults.
Helpful predators, dragonflies consume loads of mosquitoes, flies, moths, flying ants, and midges. Dragonflies are extraordinary creatures that can fly over 30 miles per hour, flying backward or forward. They can focus on their prey via huge compound eyes. Although intimidating in size to many, dragonflies are not a threat to humans as they do not bite or sting. To get up close and personal while watching these interesting creatures, grab your binoculars and study them as they perch precariously on the tip of a tall plant.
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, whose mission is ‘to protect the natural and cultural resources of Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve’ in Guerneville, explains dragonflies as being in the order Odonata, which means ‘toothed’ since they have serrated mandibles. They explain, “Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Like most other flying insects, they evolved in the early Mesozoic era. Their prototypes, the giant dragonflies of the Carboniferous, 325 MYA, are no longer placed in the Odonata but included in the Protodonata or Meganisoptera.”
Writer Maria Popova discussed color in The Marginalian in her essay “The Conscience of Color: From Chemistry to Culture.” Popova talked about Pulitzer Prize nominee Ellen Meloy’s rich book on turquoise, which happens to be one of the many jewel-toned colors found in several California dragonflies and damselflies. In native cultures of the Southwest, items such as bright turquoise or carvings were offered at water holes as gifts, where moss and dragonflies also gifted voyagers with their presence, along with ferns and flowers.
Since dragonflies are often jewel-toned with lovely, lacey, transparent wings, they have played a part across time in stories and legends. They’ve been significant to numerous cultures. For example, in the Great Lakes areas, the Ojibwe and numerous other indigenous tribes believe that the dragonfly represents the spirit of life and reminds us to honor each day. To some indigenous cultures, the dragonfly portrays healing and transformation.
The rest of the day offers a plethora of pleasures, little blooms of aliveness scattered about, causing me to think how lucky I am that I happened to look at THAT spot at THAT moment in order to observe a hummingbird at rest, sing-songy house finches lining the branches of a nearby tree like notes on a five-line staff, a lizard on a vertical climb up the rock wall as it then pushes off to a backwards jump with a perfect landing! The enduring symphony of life, with its constant reverent reminders, holds an open invitation to celebrate sounds, sights, and a cavalcade of little unknowns awaiting discovery.
