What Makes Dragonflies So Extraordinary

Before bats, before birds, before pterosaurs, a dragonfly-like insect was probably the first thing to fly on Earth. They also happen to be our host Jessica Ware’s all-time favorite insect, both because they’re impressive predators and evolutionary innovators.
Join host and entomologist Jessica Ware to find out why dragonflies are the strongest flyers in the insect world-reaching speeds of up to 30 mph and among the few animals that can hover. Then, follow scientists into the field to discover what mapping the dragonfly family tree is revealing about incredible insects. The series is produced for PBS by the American Museum of Natural History.
Original Production Funding Provided by National Science Foundation - Grant No. 2120006
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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[@amherst88]

When I lived in the FL everglades and would ride my bike at almost dusk I would be surrounded by dragonflies hunting for the mosquitoes I was attracting -- it was somewhat magical, I thought of it as (not swimming with the dolphins but) riding with the dragonflies 🌴

[@fuxan]

That is poetic. I love a good dragonfly shield...especially as a Floridian.

[@d.k.1394]

Lol

[@Robert-tj3qq]

Years ago,a friend and I were canoeing in the Everglades. One night out on a chickee in the middle of nowhere we were getting dangerously eaten alive by mosquitoes ,it was real bad !! Then out of nowhere dragonfly's showed up ,we got up and jumped for joy ! As they flew around us ,it was Amazing . I love the dragonfly ❤

[@MeltiahNye]

That's pretty cool,

[@jude1515]

That sounds so nice.

[@TheFeldhamster]

That footage of the frog jumping and missing because the dragonfly quickly took off was amazing.

[@4saken404]

lol I had to go back and rewatch it like 5 times. Amazing, yes. But I ain't gonna lie. Mostly for the lulz. 😅

[@cherylmarcuri5506]

And hysterical!

[@mommakeeks4265]

8:45

[@brosephgraves]

​@@mommakeeks4265 thank you

[@miffedmax]

My yard suffers from mosquitoes from April through June. Then, for some reason, a host of dragonflies descends and the annual Great Mosquito Massacre occurs. Love me some dragonflies!

[@MRConner-du3yg]

Guhl me too

[@Yosetime]

I think we should be able to go to a store to buy dragonflies for our backyards so we can stop the mosquito takeover before it becomes unbearable. No yard or person should ever have to suffer from the repeat petty criminal offenders that mosquitos are! I'd like to take a pack of premium grade dragonflies with me on camping and fishing trips too. If I could teach them to follow me around like security guards against mosquitos and flies I'd do that. I would do that. I'd probably be willing to spend good money on it too! Just to be able to sit around the campfire or on a fishing dock in peace and without needing to spray a full can of that disgusting repellant all over me, yes, I'd invest in that. I think these researchers should be spending time figuring out how to use and train dragonflies for human bug security. Now that would be a scientific breaththrough worth millions! They could breed for specific traits and develop tactical units for specific bug control scenarios. And if it can be done just so a semi-privileged person in a first-world country can sit my lazy butt in a chair without the annoying mosquitos buzzing around me, imagine the good they could do in disease prevention in countries where mosquitoes have risen to felony level criminals in organized crime rings that are spreading life-threatening diseases everywhere? If these researchers here in this video are devoting whole careers and educational degrees to just studying dragonflies, surely they will come up with a way to use their findings to solve some of these problems? They better be! Because otherwise, who would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a graduate degree in dragonfly genealogy? I don't think there's a whole lot of job openings for dragonfly science specifically. Unless we do figure out how to breed and train them for personal bug security. Then, yeah, let's do that. Give scholarships for those degrees! Many scholarships! If it ever happens, I would like to pre-order the premium species with full tactical training in camping and fishing security, and possibly a small indoor habitat of domesticated dragonflies to grab any insects that might make it indoors and, god forbid, if a cartel of fruit flies invade my fruit basket! I would go so far as to name those dragonflies and call them family. We should also have neighborhood dragonfly security teams at the ready for when the June bugs do their annual hugging-of-house-exteriors by the thousands, and for other such yearly invasions by other home-hugging species that make getting through your front door a creepy experience. Yes, it all sounds like fun and games and wishful thinking, until you're covered in mosquito bites because you forgot your chemical spray of protection. Then the thought of having a specialized tactical force of dragonflies is not such a far-reaching idea. I'd do it. I would.

[@SuperiorHound]

Where I live (Minnesota’s North Shore) that’s followed by gulls that feast on the dragonflies. I hate that part.

[@xela552]

Dr Ware is a fantastic communicator

[@RiverWilliamson]

I love when a scientist can switch between common and scientific language.

[@parkedawn]

Dr. Ware is fantastic.

[@oldtimer2192]

A brilliant presentation! BTW just think of the deep time involved in the evolution of dragonflies here, 400 Million years, that’s 400,000 years and multiply that by 1000! Just a human lifetime of 80 years seems long and our minds can’t really fully appreciate these kinds of time scales!

[@nerfherder4284]

I have a nerd crush on her ♥️

[@thekongstocks]

"New School" evolutionary biologist and entomologist: Jessica Lee Ware, PhD

[@burnyizland]

She is delightful! I already love dragon flies but she made this an A+ production, she's so entertaining and knowledgeable, warm and funny, all at the same time. Great Job!

[@Quest4Unknown]

Totally agree! 👍🏼

[@jude1515]

She is.

[@user-oo4ww1hf1c]

LOVE dragonflies! Lots of them in NH around my little lake. Once studied and photographed a nymph on my railing for the 4 hour hatching process. It was so fascinating, like nothing else! Thanks for this great video! 10:47

[@burnyizland]

@@user-oo4ww1hf1c That is so cool! You have to have real patience to get to know these wily guys. When I was a kid I used to lay in a field, perfectly still, for as long as it took for them to land on me. Magical.

[@olavl8827]

Not only are they good flyers, dragonflies are intelligent too. Now they won't be winning any maths contests and they're not interested in solving puzzles, but they really do make the best possible use of their tiny brains and huge eyes. They have fantastic 3D spatial awareness and can accurately estimate speeds and trajectories of all things around them. They don't just chase after prey, they intercept them in flight.

[@thetabest]

Smart for insects

[@garebaregoof4226]

@@thetabestthere’s different kinds of intelligence. Just because humans are superior in one aspect of intelligence doesn’t mean other creatures are superior to us in intelligence of other aspects. For example, their intelligence seeps into their flight. They have areas in their brain to individually control each wing. Not to mention what olavl said, vision, speed tracking, and interception. I think “for an insect” is doing a disservice to their niche intelligence.

[@Yosetime]

@@garebaregoof4226 I don't think that comment was meant to insult anything. It was an innocent compliment actually. It didn't need to be called out in that way. But I would add that there are humans who really do have less intelligence than dragonflies, and many other animal species. You'll see this phenomena in social media on the daily, and on many policing videos showing bodycam footage of criminals caught in the act or trying to get away and even some bringing toy guns to a police shootout with real guns. In those scenarios, how can we say that human 'niche' intelligence is any more advanced than any other species or niche? If you look at countries like Russia, the Middle East, and yes, even the US, do we not see willful self-destruction of each other on top of the destruction of our natural world? No other species of anything on earth participates in the willful self-destruction of anything that is not related to basic survival, than human beings. So we cannot say humans have superior intelligence in any aspect other than we have the advantage of being able to educate ourselves, to understand far-reaching consequences and complex relationships, and, most importantly, we have 'self-awareness'. But even with all these abilities that we like to call 'superior intelligence' that set us apart from other species, we still have not learned how to live in compatibility with the natural world. And that in itself will probably lead to one of those many evolutionary events of the past, if we use the laws of natural selection, that will surely cause our downfall. Or at least, an evolutionary change that will force humans back into the natural order of things, if that is even possible. Going full circle back to your response to that comment when you said "Just because humans are superior in one aspect of intelligence doesn’t mean other creatures are superior to us in intelligence of other aspects." I would have to disagree. Other creatures are indeed superior to us in intelligence of many aspects. I would like to think that you had just made a typo in that statement and meant to place the word 'not' before 'superior' as in "Just because humans are superior in one aspect of intelligence doesn’t mean other creatures are NOT superior to us in intelligence of other aspects.". Because that makes so much more sense and would explain the rest of your comment.

[@g26s239]

30 MPH is flat out amazing for such a small animal. Dr Ware's nerdish enthusiasm is cool.

[@FatLittleOldLady]

I just have a memory of my dad pulling the bark off a tree in our yard when I was like 4. He called me out there specifically to see this. It was a big piece of bark. When he did, out flew tons of Dragonflies. I was both horrified and it was like magic. Couldn't process what should be my reaction. I decided that since they didn't harm me, they were the most beautiful and noble with head movements like a horse when you talk to one on a clothes line. It's like they listen and nod and tilt their head like they understand. Also, hummingbirds. My two favorite yard guests of honor.

[@boydvo8192]

I love listening to scientists like this who are knowledgeable, passionate, and thoughtful. They usually have an optimistic view of the world and want to use their specific field of study to help the world at large.

[@Yosetime]

Very true. But if they do not find a real-world problem solving use for all this knowledge, then it's just words written in a scientific journal. There has to be some purpose for these studies that, at the very least, helps us understand something profound enough to solve some other mystery of the natural world. And there are so many mysteries!

[@AmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory]

We love all insects, but we're pretty partial to Team Odonata. Time machine goal: seeing Meganeura in flight!

[@ronkirk5099]

Even at the end of their life cycle, dragonflies are beneficial to the health of the ecosystem. While kayaking along the shore of the Great Slave Lake in Canada, I saw dragonflies in the thousands after they had reproduced at the end of their life cycle die and fall into the water. Several hundred ducks were paddling around eating them as they settled on the water. I imagine this is an important source of food for ducks in the fall before they start their long migration south.

[@marisapatch431]

I had no idea dragonflies were so good at flying! This video really helped me form a deeper appreciation for dragonflies :)

[@NOMAD-qp3dd]

Yea knowing they eat flies and mosquitos i tell my kids not to hurt dragon flies. 😂

[@terramater]

They're so fascinating! Our camera crew spent a whole summer in a lake, observing their behaviour and getting some astonishing close-ups; the footage is so amazing!

[@dianahutsel7101]

When my oldest daughter was younger, I told her a story I had heard as a child. Dragonflies turn into Fairies at night, and that during the day you could talk to them and they would remember you and seek you out at night as a Fairy 🧚‍♀️ . She would enjoy hours of talking to her dragonflies by the water sitting on hugh rocks in the sun. It was magical. With my Grand daughter I took it a step furthur, and together we built a beautiful Fairy garden underneath an old tree in my front yard, complete with Fairy houses, benches, and a tiny doghouse complete with a tiny dog. He magically comes to life at night with the Fairies, of course. Needless to say, we all love dragonflies. ❤

[@DayneandtheStars]

that is lovely! What a great memory to have! You made your daughter's and grandaughter's childhood magical

[@GermanSausagesAreTheWurst]

I have a little artificial dragonfly that I pin to my hat, and it seems to keep the mosquitoes and deerflies away.

[@Hello_Fuckers0]

Great idea that I'm definitely going to try out!!

[@GermanSausagesAreTheWurst]

@@Hello_Fuckers0 I got mine on Ebay

[@RiverWilliamson]

What?! No way

[@infinitemonkey917]

When I swim in the ocean I put a little shark repellent on, and it seems to work.

[@werbnaright5012]

May I interest you in my anti-tiger rock?

[@jfu5222]

Ayumu Sasaki, grand prix motorcycle racer, has always featured dragonflies in the designs on his helmets. The artwork has varied, classical or stylised, the depictions of dragonflies on samurai helmets made me smile and think of this very talented young rider. I always thought the inspiration was the maneuverability of a racing motorcycle, but maybe it is in homage to those helmets of his ancestors.

[@IndriidaeNT]

This video is so cool, it gives great information on dragonflies and damselflies in terms of their natural history and entomology I have never realized or discovered before. I didn’t know about fliers and perchers and I also didn’t know that while dragonflies are know to eat mosquitoes that carry Malaria and Yellow Fever to stop humans from being infected by them when they feed, I never heard of Dengue, another disease carried by mosquitoes before. I need to do more research on it. Don’t you agree?

[@kristianvrum8979]

I read recently that, for the samurais, the dragonfly was a symbol of strength, agility and victory in battle. Don't know if it's true, but at least it makes perfect sense to me 🙂

[@bobyoung1698]

I love her enthusiasm for a creature many people aren't even aware of.

[@DanElser]

I have revived Dragon flies that were incapsulated in ice. The first time, I found one Griff Creek, North Lake Tahoe, I had a hunch, removed it from the ice and water, warmed it up and sure enough it flew away. the next time it was late fall, it had rained, filled an empty bowl with rain water and one got trapped and over night the water froze. So when I found him in the morning I removed the sheet of ice his wings were inside of and set it in the sun. You have to be carful, it's a slow process. It helps to blow your breath on them, that seems to really do the trick. Eventually he started to wiggle and move around, then took off. I have some photos and video if anyone is interested.

[@Womble1252]

Great story, make a vid with your photos? 😊

[@RiverWilliamson]

With special audio guest, my favorite insect: CICADAS

[@Showmeromi]

So well executed. great writers behind this.

[@UrbanDragon]

a friend who passed away in 2021 at a far too young of an age held that dragonflies were part of the afterlife, loved ones returning to check on us, the first time that another friend and I were able to meet after her death a dragonfly laned on me as we sat at the outside table. Our family and friends all see dragonflies as Steff coming by to see us.

[@jamieponiatowski7909]

I was told years ago that if a dragonfly would land on you it would bring you good luck.

[@AifDaimon]

Has it been proven to be true, though?

[@jamieponiatowski7909]

I think so. They have always brought me good luck.

[@AifDaimon]

@@jamieponiatowski7909 great to hear

[@varonadee6980]

Even if they don't bring future good luck, I felt extremely lucky, even privileged, when one landed perfectly in the center of my sternum, with it's wings outstretched, head facing up, and remained there for about eight seconds before flying off.

[@AifDaimon]

@@varonadee6980 that's so cool

[@bettyboadwine4890]

"Just smaller than a Crow" holy shit! Insect that large is incredible. Give those insects their due! They're incredible even today.

[@chrisphinney8475]

They breathe through osmosis. The higher levels of oxygen in the past allowed for larger dragonflies.

[@76rjackson]

Remember that their prey would have been correspondingly larger, too. Flies the size of robins and I don't even want to think about the mosquito size!

[@lazyhoundracing9621]

Last summer I was eating lunch in my truck facing a small wet grassy ditch between the parking lot and the road. One dragonfly would fly low down the center of the ditch and scare up mosquitos while the others waited at the sides. When the mosquitos would fly up the others would swoop in and eat them. Then the process would repeat. It was so cool and obvious what they were doing.

[@John-yl3lj]

Dragonflies are truly amazing insects and love having them around the yard when the mosquitos are prevalent. I wasn't aware that the Dragonflies lineage was one of the oldest until I recently watched the Netflix series 'Life on our Planet' narrated by Morgan Freeman. Now I am also aware of the different styles of Dragonflies wings. Many thanks.

[@jodywho6696]

Yes. More videos about insects. Drangon flies are my body guards✨

[@chaugg1]

Thank you for this topic! Please more on other insect topics. 🎉

[@davidbrevik2537]

Dragonflies are one of the few insects I like! I'm glad to see they get their own video.

[@palantir135]

I love to photograph them with my macro lens. Year after year there are less dragonflies and damselflies as are other insects.

[@koicaine1230]

I love these guys! They started showing up after I made a pond from an above ground pool. They are excellent hunters of pests like Mosquitoes and Flies. They have a larval stage that needs water which is why they showed up in the pond.

[@carpediemarts705]

The swimming larval version lives for 3 years and the flying form 3 months

[@ravenmeyer3740]

In my ignorant outlook, 3 months isn’t very long. 😢

[@aldoconciso]

In our 10sqm pond there are 4 different species which appear at different moments along the summer. Some of them were still flying in late november last year

[@kthfox]

I am so jealous of that dragonfly pin.

[@Jennifer83881]

I absolutely love dragonflies 💞 Thank you for this episode

[@georgemoore2226]

Indigenous people in the south west U.S. believe dragonflies are connected to water and are sacred. They are often depicted in the art- as a way of requesting more water. Most excellent presentation. Interesting, very informative, educational.

[@midwestdumpster]

I remember when I was a young child playing in the sandbox, which was in a fenced-in corner of the property beside the garage a Dragonfly hovered over the only way in or out for a good half hour, not sure what it was doing but I was terrified and will never forget that day XD

[@megansfo]

I've always loved them. Magical creatures!

[@BajaSurf]

This documentary was a treat in every way. The chemistry between the two scientists was amazing.

[@themostselfishman]

Incredible video, content and presentation just top notch.

[@ellenmadsen7308]

Evinrude was my favorite Disney character when I was a kid. Excellent program on the best insect ever!

[@nucleargrizzly1776]

Dragonflies made growing up in the Louisiana wetlands manageable. Used to sit on the porch and watch the winged dragons snatch horseflies and mosquitos we attracted out of the air.

[@Talik13]

Holy crap. I knew dragonflies were cool ever since I was a kid. I didn't realize they were THIS C O O L !

[@reneedemers8218]

Odonata are also my favorites. This is a delightful video!!!

[@nathanaelcard]

These two are awesome. @pbsterra, the video description deserves to have Rhema Uche-Dike's name in it with Dr Ware's

[@glossaria2]

Dragonflies are my favorite insects, too! I love that they're fierce and delicate at the same time, and their colors and wing patterns and flight fascinate me. I'm still learning to identify them (and I'll admit, the sexual dimorphism throws me sometimes.) There's a pond in the Adirondacks that I visit periodically during the summer where I can sit and watch them for hours. Depending on when I visit, I'll see entirely different sets of species. They're fearless, too-- they'll let me get *incredibly* close (within a couple of inches) to photograph them, sometimes even taking off and landing again immediately in the same spot at a more advantageous angle, as if they're posing for their close-up. My grandmother (who was from southern Germany) always used to say that it was good luck to have a dragonfly light on you.

[@JalenJaguar]

There is something so beautifully comforting about seeing black folk be so happily engaged in nature in this way, they were beyond informational & engaging & I loved it 🪰💓🪰

[@jamesarnette1394]

Racist

[@yessumify]

​​@@jamesarnette1394 yeah what the heck? My thoughts exactly

[@Tonyhouse1168]

Yeah, it’s absolutely racist to see our folks be educated and interested in the world around us. Takes either a big set of testes or a small brain to comment on someone’s post that they’re racist; it’s pretty easy to see which of those y’all possess.

[@Angel_Bob_]

Love me some excellent Dragonfly content, very well done ya'll

[@Raffaele276]

Dragon fly lore. My ‘fishing with a dragon fly’ experience. They are my favorite insects, beauty, design, agility and dare say intelligence? I fished a pond in Northern California consistently for many years. Teeming with flora, aquatic life and dragon flies, I came to observe, admire and become fascinated with these amazing creatures. I would fish from a very small, one man raft, nearly at water level, sitting down. I used an artificial lure, which requires successive, multiple casts and retrievals. After several casts and returns, I noticed a dragon fly following ( flying after) my cast lure to the point it hit the water, and then hovering there. Thinking this was a fluke, I repeated the cast, retrieval sequence several more times, it really was happening. Whats more the dragon fly would follow my lure’s retrieval back to me (the raft) and then, this is even more amazing, it would position (hover) itself above and behind me, at rod level, as I raised and drew back the rod to cast again. It seemed as if it was waiting for me to cast again, so we could start the whole cast, follow, retrieve, cast sequence again. I tested this occurrence more than a dozen times and each time it was the same. I was left with this over whelming wonderful feeling that I had somehow connected with? communicated with? nature, an insect no less, and we were actually playing a game together of cross species ‘go fetch’.

[@PimpCatTV]

Great little story raff

[@AifDaimon]

The OG fliers, literally

[@PeppoMusic]

Pterygota, or mayflies, is order of flyers from the Silurian and Devonian has some older fossils than of meganeurids, apparently, up to am estimated 440 million years ago, that is more than a hundred million years earlier! (I was also surprised, thought the same as you). But still, that is one "that we know of". Insects, especially with softer and lighter exoskeletons sadly do not fossilize very well. So it is very scarce, especially that far back. From most we even only have fragments of wings. But it also seems more likely that flight would probably have started with a much smaller insect rather than the more massive and specialized Odonata. Also, they would require their niche (hunting other flying insects) to exist before being able to evolve into that niche of course.

[@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep]

It's hilarious they talk about their evolution when they appeared in a geological instant with all their biological structures clearly no evolution producing anything about them. It's amazing how tax dollars is paying to push a pseudo science naturalist atheistic narrative in the year 2023 that goes against the science, logic and reason that an educational channel should be based on.

[@pbsterra]

The term you used, Pterygota, refers to the winged insects. Within the Pterygota is the order Ephemeroptera, or the mayflies. They form a natural group, or clade, with the Odonata, or dragonflies & damselflies; this sister group relationship is called the Palaeoptera and it is sometimes recovered as sister to the rest of the Neoptera, or remaining winged insects. Other phylogenies recover Odonata as sister to the rest of the winged insects, with Ephemeroptera sister to the Neoptera. Regardless of the hypothesis (Palaeoptera, Metapterygota or Chiastomyaria), the reason we think the first to fly were insects that looked something like a dragonfly is because in our tree of life of insects they are recovered at the base of tree. Yes, probably the first flying odonates may not have been as large as Meganeura to begin with (in that weird time between basal hexapods and when flight evolved it was likely something smaller) but it probably looked a lot like a dragonfly, a mayfly, or their common ancestor, should Palaeoptera be the correct hypothesis. There are older non-winged fossils of basal hexapods that are very old, but these probably resembled something like a silverfish or firebrat and they could not fly. - Jessica, entomologist & Insectarium host

[@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep]

@@pbsterra Why you ignoring my comment and hiding it? You push pseudo science then are pathetic enough to hide people who point it out. That is unreal for a publicly funded channel to silence free speech and push pseudo science pbs. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep]

@@pbsterra still waiting pbs why are you so pathetic?

[@HurricaneTroy]

Yesssssssssssssssss Dragonflies are so so so awesome

[@clivematthews95]

I love what I learned here 🙏🏾☺️

[@thebourgeoispunk]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="526">8:46</a> That shot with the frog trying to eat the dragonfly was incredible

[@user-co8vc5nd7l]

Omg I love this presenter I could learn all day

[@pattimiller9157]

I love dragonfly since I was a kid I thought of them as mini helicopter ❤

[@helicopsyche]

Good video! As someone who identifies macroinvertebrates, it's nice to put a face to one of the people responsible for our ever improving taxonomy, even if splitting Gomphus into a bunch of genera was a big pain in the butt for me.

[@Kaice88]

dragonflies are just so cool. Definitely my fav flying insect! I can stare at them for hours. what a fun video! i learned so much!

[@eveorlando3389]

I love dragonflies! This made me happy. A few years ago, I was looking for a book to learn more about dragonflies.Unfortunatey, I was unable to find one.

[@andrewsun4385]

Cool!!!🌟🌟💯💯

[@trinacogitating4532]

I live in a suburb of Kansas City, in a 3rd-floor apartment. Was happily surprised to see, one day, multiple dragonflies had flown past my balcony. I didn't notice until later - had been taking photos of thunderstorm clouds. Looking at the pics, there were a few dragonflies, flying past! I had no idea they ever flew so high above ground level.

[@amicaaranearum]

I love watching dragonfly aerobatics.

[@bluedasher74]

I love, love, LOVE dragonflies!!!! They are my favorite insect of all time. In the 2000s and the 2010s, I took many pictures of dragonflies in my backyard. They are gorgeous creatures and beneficial to the environment.

[@bluedasher74]

By the way, their "nymph" stage begins underwater. They spend most of their lives as underwater hunters before they eventually emerge to the surface and transform into flying creatures.

[@ZedaZ80]

@@bluedasher74 "hmm, the water is less dense up here, I wonder..."

[@jodywho6696]

Simply the best. Better than all the rest. ✨

[@jacobv3396]

Sounds like dragonflies can be put in the same club as sharks and crocodiles; been around forever and highly successful.

[@Zeebez]

Love it! I want to bug out and I’m stoked on dragonflies ❤❤❤ great video. And vibes❤

[@theneustadt]

Thanks for including views of our Tiffany "Dragfonly" Lamps at the end of this fascinating episode. While we are expert about Tiffany's lamps, we didn't know much about the dragonfly and we learned a lot. What extraordinary insects! Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a way that is entertaining and accessible.

[@rklein]

When I was younger in areas of Florida we called them "Mosquito Hawks" and everyone understood to respect them. Somewhere over time after many people started moving to Florida the "Dragonfly" name replaced "Mosquito Hawk" and people became terrified of them. Now pretty much everyone has no clue what they are and are told they will be attacked or bitten by them, so people actively seek to kill them. I wish we could go back to calling them "Mosquito Hawks" if for no other reason than to protect these beautiful creatures.

[@kenneth9874]

We called them mosquito hawks as well

[@Sonofawildanimal4241]

I like lamp.

[@jakerubino3233]

Always been one of my favourite creatures. A flawless predator with super abilities. We occasionally get massive swarms of them in Adelaide where I live. Never realised they actually did swarm until the first time I saw it. Amazing.

[@kellymalone6798]

I used to have swarms at my old house. Brown and blue dragonflies. Happened every year.

[@ivanabah2237]

My Nigerian brothers doing SCIENCE!. much love from Home

[@skehleben7699]

Absolutely facinating!! Worthy of a multi episode series!

[@kforest2745]

These two minds are awesome glad to hear them

[@williamlavelle7786]

In the summer of 2023 I was living just West of Beloit, Wi and happened to look toward the wild portion of our yard [ about 2 acres] and saw at least 3 or 400 dragon flies. We are at least 1 mile away from any water but the swarm was there for about 15 minutes and then continued their journey to wherever.

[@iquitos46]

It's fascinating to learn how people who are dedicated to their work become so enamored. Did you have a "magic moment" as a kid when you decided it was going to be dragonflies? I love them because they're flying sculptures, art on the wing, on the wind. Thanks for your work.

[@justinpyle3415]

Dragonflies are totally boss.

[@EwenBell]

This is just fabulous, thankyou so much for a well told story and a chance to meet some seriously cool people. I never realised dragonflies had all this going on :)

[@CatDaddyGuitar]

I loved watching them hunt mosquitoes from my second story balcony, as they were always about that height. Fascinating creatures.

[@rikardo1070]

amazing and wonderful info ! I love them !!!

[@nannynan5893]

This is so great! THANK YOU for this wonderful and fascinating video.

[@d.k.1394]

I love love their compound eyes

[@branevans3705]

I've mostly seen "perchers" on land, but then on this pond behind where I used to live, I saw them fly or hover. But I thought they were both the same insect. Thanks for this cool info!

[@ellobo1326]

My favorite insect. Absolutely amazing creatures.

[@rdombroskijr]

I was on a kayak trip heading down the Wisconsin river. It was hot and full of mosquitos. Within a few minutes of getting eaten alive, the dragonflies appeared. I felt and heard them near my ears as they feasted on mosquitos. It was quite an experience!

[@geobla6600]

Amazing how the most sophisticted and complex flyer in the earths history came into existence suddenly without any transition or evolving taking place and are in fact essentially the same today lack the size.

[@uwcb1]

She’s amazing! And thank you to both/everyone doing this work.

[@bethring3340]

Love this video. Very informative! <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="545">9:05</a>

[@parkedawn]

I love dragonflies, and this video was excellent!

[@rogerp6903]

Excellent episode an d information,Thanks for sharing

[@NoName-ik2du]

I love dragonflies. I live by the woods where there are quite a few flying pest insects. During the summer there are always dragonflies hanging out in my backyard going after the other bugs.

[@hcwbw3]

Living by Deer point Lake Fl. I noticed on summer day I think afternoon a few years ago I was cutting the grass that I let go too long and was quite tall, this action cause a bunch of small flying insects to fly off the grass area. With in 1 or 2 min. there were a few the more and more till there were many Dragonfly's coming in to feast on these insects. I had see sea gulls adapt to modern man made phenomenon like following tug boats on the Miami River (where I lived on a boat for a while) and these knew and took advantage of the fact that the river waters and bottom got churned up by the big props of the tug boats and this caused mullet and other small bait fish to come to the top and in addition jump out and back into the water in what appeared to be an effort to clear their gills for sand and bottom muck. This birds made a feast of this, which makes me think how did the dragonfly's find my spot and do they communicate or did others near by saw the commotion and join in???

[@marksneddon-7zero]

As much as I love Dragonflies, I have to thank you for introducing me to Red-winged Blackbirds @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="505">8:25</a> Love birds, too.

[@benjaminhawthorne1969]

I have LOVED dragonflies since I was a toddler visiting my grandfather by the lake. I had never seen such a wonderous creature! It reminded me of a biplane.

[@chance1986]

Wonderful video. I've always loved dragonflies. I learned a lot from this. Thank you.

[@khalidbinasim6942]

Thanks for this knowledge

[@raphlvlogs271]

they are by far the most adaptable predators known

[@PurpleRhymesWithOrange]

Dragonflies are a good omen. They ward off minor annoyances to help you focus on your quest.

[@hermenutic]

Excellent. Enjoyed immensely. Photography beyond excellent.

[@clayz1]

Dragonfly's seem almost friendly or intelligent. I wonder what communication could be like.

[@heatherkaye8653]

Oh how I love odonates so very much! Here in Portland, Oregon the Johnson Creek Watershed Council has volunteers survey for odonates and it is one of my most favorite summer activities! It's so exciting to swoop a good specimen in your net and do a photo shoot of it!

[@chantalrochon3566]

Thank you for this information and great video❤❤❤❤

[@jamesdriscoll_tmp1515]

The nymph stage is interesting also.

[@susanmclee5209]

When i was a child, the term for a "dragonfly" here in the South, was "mosquito hawk". I rarely hear that term used in this day and age.

[@ziggyustar3137]

love these two telling about Dragon Flies// I dot large pools of water around the yard in summer they fly the entire acre dropping down for a drink & come back every year

[@PDogB]

This was so fly! Thank you!!