Watercolor by Moses Harris (1731-1785)
DRAGONFLIES IN THE SUMMER GARDEN
In late June, I was weeding near a stand of daylilies when I spied several dragonflies flitting about. One, which had a light blue iridescent body, landed on a leaf of a daylily right in front of me. For maybe twenty seconds it remained; then, in less time than the blink of an eye, it zoomed away. What a wondrous and interesting creature!
It has large multifaceted eyes, an elongated body, two pairs of strong (usually) transparent wings, and three pairs of legs with two legs used for clasping its prey.
This encounter initiated a curiosity in me. Most of us who work in summer gardens or yards, have the opportunity to see dragonflies, but I realized I do not know much about the species. So, I began an internet search and found a plethora of information. To my amazement dragonflies’ fossilized ancestors have been found from 325 million years ago and with wingspans up to about 30 inches. What a sight that would be to see a thirty-inch dragonfly. Today, there are over 3000 species, and dragonflies live on every continent except Antarctica (with the greatest percentage of species in tropical areas).
As almost everyone who has seen a dragonfly can attest, they are powerful and agile flyers capable of moving in six directions, upward, downward, forward, backward, to the left and to the right. They can hover by counter-stroking their forewings versus the hindwings. Dragonflies use phase-stroking when the hindwings beat ahead of the forewings for fast flight and synchronized-stroking to change direction rapidly. Lastly, they may glide in between bursts of powered flight.
Dragonflies have an interesting life cycle. Dragonflies, like other insects, have both a nymphal and adult stage. Both are predatory. Although predatory, the dragonfly is not in any way harmful to humans or our gardens. Instead, the help rid the garden of insect pests.
Dragonflies hatch from eggs to aquatic nymphs, molting several times before reaching the adult stage. Different nymphal forms are claspers, sprawlers, hiders, and burrowers. If you peer into a freshwater pond you may be able to recognize one of these types of nymphs. The nymphs feed on freshwater insect larvae, invertebrates and sometimes tadpoles or small fish. The nymph stages last from two months to five years depending on species. The adult hunts many types of insects including midges, mosquitos, moths, damselflies, butterflies, and even smaller dragonflies.
Dragonflies throughout history have had many meanings or uses to various cultures. The southwestern Indian tribes of the US were referred to as “snake-doctors” because they believed the dragonflies followed snakes into the earth to heal them of injuries. Dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery, Hopi rock art and Pueblo jewelry.
In both Japan and China, dragonflies have been used in traditional medicine, while in Indonesia they are fried as an edible delicacy. In the Japanese culture, dragonflies are also a symbol of the season of autumn and the subject of art and haiku poetry.
The Haiku below comes from Mama Lisa’s World Blog and is from A Japanese Miscellany by Lafcadio Hearn (1901). The blogger has prepared an English language version also in haiku form.
One theme of Art Nouveau period (from about 1890 to about 1910 or so) was dynamism and movement. Perhaps that was why Dragonflies were common subjects in jewelry and other art, particularly in Europe.
As you can see, both the creature itself, its history, and its influence on human cultures is fascinating. I credit that moment in June eye-to-eye with the blue Ddragonfly with giving me the opportunity to know it better. I hope I have inspired you to learn a little more about our big-eyed garden friend.
Holly Sparrow, Headwaters Master Gardener, July 2021