Dragonfly or Damselfly

When I was younger I never thought about a

dragonfly with any interest. I just thought of

them as flying bugs that hung around the lake

when we went fishing with my Dad. At that age

I never looked at them as a form of beauty.

They were just pesky bugs flying around.

I remember hearing them referred to as

“Snake Doctors” from my Mom.

The last few years I have begun to look at

them so differently. They are so colorful

and so graceful in their flight around. I

took more notice to them about four

years ago when a friend’s daughter was

graduating from high school and I was to

fly to Florida to attend the event. She so

loves the dragonfly so I felt that would make

a great gift. No, I did not take her a dragonfly;

I painted her one on canvas. At the time

I was studying them in books to see just

how to paint one, I then noticed their beauty.

Then last year I bought myself my first “real”

camera; a professional like camera. Not long

after getting it I was in the backyard snapping

away when a beautiful dragonfly came up off the

creek to fly around my plants in the backyard.

I waited for him to light somewhere so that I

could also snap him. He was a green color with

black wings. I have since learned that he is a

damselfly. Both these breeds belong to the order

of Odonata. They come from the same family I

take it but there are differences in them.

A damselfly is long and slender where a dragonfly

is usually stocky. On a dragonfly the eyes touch

or nearly touch at the top of the head, and the

eyes of a damselfly are separated, appearing to

each side of the head. Whatever the difference

I will probably still look upon them as being

“dragonfly’s” and I will continue to enjoy their

flying around and lighting from time to time so

that I may capture them on the camera.

There are 450 species (according the internet)

of dragonflies and damselflies that live in North

America, with about 150 of those species living

in New Hampshire and Vermont .
They can hover, fly sideways and backwards (I

have not seen the backwards trick yet), and

turn 90 degrees on an aerial dime. They prey

upon other insects like mosquitoes (and on my

creek they have a lot of those to fest on). Plus,

they can dart over water at 35 miles per hour.

Dragonfly’s eggs are laid and hatch in the water.

They will live under the water for two to four

years while they molt roughly a dozen times

before them crawl up a stem or rock in the

night or early morning during a warm season

and then squeeze out of a split in the skin on

their backs. They inflate their adult body with

air and pump up the wings with blood. The

wings then spread out to dry.

I wanted to share that since all that was new

to me, I thought you would enjoy learning it

also. The next time you see a dragonfly or a

damselfly, step back and enjoy their beauty

as they fly around.

Thanks for stopping in,
Pam