Lesser Green Emperor Anax guttatus

Dragonflies - ya gotta love 'em. As I've said before, they are the helicopter gunships of the insect world. With the ability to propel themselves in six directions; upward, downward, forward, back, and side to side. Not to mention the added bonus of being able to hover.

Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect order, Odonata, - Greek for “toothed jawed”.

Even as larvae, dragonflies have an enormous hinged labium, a lower lip with pincers that can be extended to catch small aquatic insects, crustaceans and even fish and tadpoles.

This large and handsome critter was careening around like a fat bloke at a bake sale, but settled enough times for me to snap some pics - leaving me marvelling at the metallic hues he is endowed with. And I'm not alone; for many people, dragonflies are actually a big deal - there are even groups who go "Oding", (much like people go twitching).

Most of a dragonfly's life is spent in the naiad form, some naiads even hunt on land, an aptitude that could easily have been more common in ancient times.

(Anax guttatus)

Does this look like eye spot mimicry to you?

The larval stage of large dragonflies may last as long as five years. The adult stage of larger species of dragonfly can live as long as five or six months.

Compound eyes. Perfect for spotting prey.

Note the small moth on the right forewing - taking bravery to new heights eh?

In Europe, dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "devil's darning needle" and "ear cutter", link them with evil or injury.

A Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil. Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls.

The Norwegian name for dragonflies is Øyenstikker ("eye-poker"), and in Portugal they are sometimes called tira-olhos ("eye-snatcher").

They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name gwas-y-neidr, "adder's servant". The Southern United States term "snake doctor" refers to a folk belief that dragonflies follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured.

All very groovy eh?