Wednesday, January 30, 2013

#30 - Dragonflies


 Dragonfly Necklace by lilyofthevalleyky on Etsy, $28

Every time I get the chance to go to the lake with my dad, there's always a ton of dragonflies. The little creatures kinda scare me but they are so pretty. So today I learned more about them.

My first question, of course, was do they bite or sting people?! 
Dragonflies don't have stingers, so they can't sting you. But it turns out they can bite if you catch one and it feels threatened. However, most don't bite if they just land on you. Even if they do bite, most aren't capable of breaking the skin. Anyone ever got bitten by a dragonfly? Share your story below! 

Why have I only seen dragonflies at the lake?
Dragonflies hang out near bodies of water because that's where they lay their eggs.

Are dragonflies beneficial? 
Dragonflies eat mosquitoes as a main food source! So I think they're quite beneficial! :) 


Dragonfly Ceramic Tag by FaithAnnOriginals  on Etsy, $6

Other Random Facts:

Baby dragonflies (nymphs) have a special appendage on their heads that they use to spear small fish!

Dragonflies spend up to 3 years at nymphs and only a few weeks as winged creatures! The wings are primarily for searching for a mate and breeding. When you see a winged dragonfly, it's near the end of its lifespan.

The largest dragonfly fossil ever found had shows a creature with a wingspan of nearly 3 feet! That's the largest flying insect known. I'll admit, I might pee my pants if a 3 foot dragonfly flew near me.

Dragonflies can move their wings independently which gives them awesome skills in flight.




2 comments:

  1. Love this!

    Thank you so much for featuring one of my ceramic gift tag/ornaments & a link to my little handmade shop!!! It's amazing how popular the dragonfly pieces are!

    Great theme for the day and wonderful information! I had no idea that a winged dragonfly that I see is close to the end of it's lifespan.

    But I HAVE to admit, if I saw a 3 foot dragonfly, I might pee my pants, too... but I'd have to follow it for the next 3 wks so that when it died, I could impress the lovely, lacey wings into my fine white clay and share it's beauty :)

    Thanks again, so much!
    Faith

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  2. Faith, it is my pleasure to show off your gorgeous creations!! I didn't know winged dragonflies are near death either! Thanks for the smile about stalking a 3 foot dragonfly! Can you imagine the buzzing noise from those wings?! I'd love to see one though it'd seriously scare me to death! I mean, the 1-2 inch ones creep me out a little.

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