Miniature Planes

As the rainy season starts we feel the presence of many beautiful creatures flying around us. Among them we can see the carnival of miniature planes flying around, which is called as Dragonflies. When we were young, to catch a Dragonfly was the greatest challenge. My Grandmother, whenever she sees the Dragonflies she would go back to the nostalgic memories and tell her childhood stories about these creatures. She used to catch the fly and make them hold small stone by telling,“Your father is in debt so hold this stone as I say”. Whenever I hear this story, I would wonder my Grandmother’s skill of catching these active insects, rather than these creature’s strength! These can fly very fast and can change directions swiftly too. Because of their rapid direction changing habbit, we need to have lot of patience while shooting these creatures through the camera. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. I was taken aback by their varieties after watching them closely through my camera. They come under the order Odonata, which is divided into two suborders, the Dragonflies which spread their wings when resting, and the Damselflies, which hold their wings together above the body when resting. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. Male Dragonflies are known for their territorial behaviour. He will chase other males from the area. The male transfers sperm from his genitalia, on the end of the abdomen, to a special receptacle on his abdominal segment, near the thorax. When a female enters his territory he persues her and grasps her behind the neck with special clasping organs on the end of his tail. The female then contacts the male’s receptacle with the end of her abdomen to receive the sperm. The pair may remain in this looped position for sometime and can even fly when hooked together in this way. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. Most Dragonflies simply drop their eggs into the water or attach them to the stems of aquatic plants. The eggs develop into nymphs that spend their life entirely submerged, feeding on other aquatic animals. Dragonflies may remain in nymphal form from 1 to 3 or more years; during this period, the nymph molts ten or more times. Nymphs crawl out of the water just before their final molt and become winged adults.Their average lifespan is 6 to 8 weeks among which they spend a large part of their time on the wing. In connection with the weather, there is a superstitious belief that, if the Dragonflies in a flock are seen flying close to the paddy fields, it would be raining soon. Dragonflies and Damselflies are important in the foodwebs of freshwater streams and lakes. Viewed 1258 Times | Comments (1)

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