The Insane Biology of: The Dragonfly

Credits:
Narrator/Writer: Stephanie Sammann
Writer: Inés Dawson

Imagery courtesy of Getty Images

Music:

Youth by ANBR
Waiting by Brianna Tam
Spearhead by Evgeny Bardyuzha
Seasons by ANBR
Intrepid by Brianna Tam
A Tender Heart by The David Roy Collective
A Contrite Spirit by The David Roy Collective

References:

[safeysmith]

I use to be in the army. I can remember in training, the endless patrols through the woods.
But the dragonflies were our friends. You’d see them gliding back and forth just over our heads, catching the mosquitoes which swarmed around us.
It was impossible for the dragonflies to get all the mosquitoes, but it was a comfort to know we had allies out there in those woods.

[livedeliciously]

I remember being only able to see content like this on the Discovery Channel. It's crazy that I can watch content like this (arguably waaay better) at anytime and not being glued to my TV. Brilliant.

[zachheilman]

The counter-balance to deal with aerodynamic flutter is some really incredible biomechanics. I've seen videos of flutter being tested on airplanes and it's no joke, that can quickly ruin your day.

[dhck]

These aerial aces saved me when I was camping near the Yukon River. Once there was a thousand mosquitoes, then out of nowhere there were thousands of dragonflies. It was a treat to watch them catch mosquitoes, very beautiful to watch. Extremely agile and nimble in the air.

[speedy]

I like how dragonflies literally have different flight modes, including a hover, turbo, reverse, glide and agile mode.

[zen]

"direct flight muscles able to tug on each wing individually"
So dragonflies are all wheel drive?

[cshepard]

The idea of dragon flies and hawks competing against each other is crazy. One that big would be terrifying

[attabooii]

I'm a grad student studying entomology and I remember as an undergrad, when I was taking the intro entomology series, I spent hours at this river trying to catch a dragonfly for my collection for class. I finally spotted one flying slower than all the others. After chasing it for a bit, I finally caught it and realized the reason it was flying so slow was cause it was eating another dragonfly 😅

[donloughrey]

I am 70yrs. old and I have viewed a lot of documentaries. This is among the best that have seen. From the videography to the science to the wonderful presentation by a young woman with a great voice who seems to actually enjoy the subject that she is presenting. Thanks Real Science.
4stars from me.

[alwaysradical]

A dragonlly landed on my paddle on my last kayaking adventure. I slowly pulled it closer to me so I could study up close. Such beautifully evolved creatures. Gorgeous. And when it took off, it kind of just hovered with amazing control, as if showing off. It was the highlight of my trip.

[frogsicleyt]

Dragonflies are by far my favorite insect. Not only are they badass, but they are so friendly as well! Whenever I see one, I can always gently slide my finger into it, and hold it on my finger. I’m sure they would make great pets if they didn’t thrive better in the wild. And they take care of pesky bugs like mosquitoes, and are beautiful in coloration!

I can find literally no flaws. They are really the perfect creature.

[ralphwhittemore]

Dragonflies are amazing creatures. I was with my Grandson going through a glass encased lobby of a store. When my Grandson spotted a large Dragonfly trapped inside the lobby.
I told him to watch this, and I slowly reached my hand out towards the large insect. And he climbed onto my hand.Then I slowly walked to the automatic sliding door and lifted my hand up and the Dragonfly to my Grandsons amazement flew to freedom.
They definitely are intelligent and understand what's a threat and what's not.

[thYrdYprYing]

Once when tubing down a river in Virginia, a blue dragonfly landed on my leg. Within minutes, I had dozens of them all over me, perhaps drinking the salt from the sweat on my body. It was one of the most magical moments of my life. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it.

[BlindSniperz]

Early morning fishing and being surrounded by hundreds of gnats. Dragonfly's are a welcome sight hovering around your boat, snatching up gnat after gnat mid-air. Such a cool sight. At times, they'll even chase your lure while casting it out.

[derskalde]

I remember an article about this a few years ago. There they explained that dragonflys also can choose where they are actively looking, like, still have 360° vision, but concentrating on one point in their vision. And that you can actually see where a dragonfly is looking, because their eyes will absorb more light there, creating darker spots on the eyes.

[janefrost]

When my children were younger, I took them to Dartmouth and we went walking, we came to a place by the river Dart and there were dragonflies everywhere. It was really beautiful, they are so acrobatic in the air, and their colouring is amazing, 30 years later, my children have never forgotten it, nor have I.

[CapriciousBlackBox]

“It is hypothesized that…..” Thank you for this. Too often scientific nature documentaries speak in absolutes, when they don’t actually “know” for certain.

[addy]

I had a dragonfly once get stuck in my hair, after very carefully untangling him he sat in my shoulder and even moved to my hand for a solid 2 minutes before flying away. One of the reasons their my favorite insect

[umami]

My sister loved Dragon flies when she passed I got a tattoo of a dragonfly on my arm. I now have a great appreciation for these warriors of the sky.

[dougg]

Talked to a scientist once who studied water quality in different parts of the country ( cities and towns) she said if you see dragonflies in an area, that’s a sign of good water quality