Hitchin’ a Ride

Several years ago, my daughter Caitlin and I spent the afternoon at Howe State Park in Spencer, Massachusetts, initially looking for water striders. I had been working on material for the “Science Corner” section of Highlights for Children and wanted to get a few photos of these walk-on-water bugs for a surface tension question. An extensive survey of the pond there didn’t show any striders within practical reach of my macro lens. However, we did see dozens of dragonflies hunting along the reed beds of the pond.

Not one to give up an opportunity, especially since some sort of article on dragonflies was on my radar screen, I re-evaluated my priorities and set out to photograph a few of these odonates.

These proved to be just as elusive for the camera as well – but for another reason. The effect of the warm summer air on these poikilothermic insects gave them reaction times in the millisecond range. I never once was able to focus the camera on these bugs before they’d fly off. So, eventually I gave up trying.

Then an odd thing happened. The second I mentally admitted defeat, a female Blue Dasher landed on my pant leg. She stayed with me as I wandered about the shoreline. She didn’t even seem bashful about me taking photos of her hitching a ride.

Dragonflies

They can soar and hover and dart back and forth with lightning speed. They have large and highly adapted compound eyes that can detect color, ultra-violet light, polarized light, and movement. And they have an insatiable appetite for flying insects. Dragonflies are perhaps Nature’s most voracious and efficient bug hunters.

Most dragonflies catch their prey in midair, although a few species capture resting bugs from reed stems and other vegetation. Some dragonflies use solely their mouth to grasp a bug while others prefer to use their feet. After a quick bite to the bug’s head to incapacitate it, it’s din-din time, baby. Dragonflies usually eat on the fly (pun intended).

And never think that a flying insect can hide. The visual field of a dragonfly is almost 360 degrees. It can see in all directions except directly behind itself. Dragonflies are clearly at the top of the bug pyramid. Not a bad racket for a creature with so little reasoning power.