Mike Sawers, age 73, of Oak Hill, W. Va., for his question:
CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE DRAGONFLY?
The word dragon was given as the name for the most terrible monster that could be imagined by our ancient relatives. Dragons were thought to be fire breathing serpents with huge wings. The dragon was the bad guy on early maps, since he was shown to inhabit the unknown lands. The Chinese, however, took kindly to him and thought of him as a friendly god.
The beautiful dragonfly that we find hovering over our ponds today certainly has none of the sinister qualities of the mythical dragons in the past. Our water insect is strictly a friendly fellow.
Four fragile wings which look like fine gauze are anchored on the dragonfly's back. The large wings shimmer and flash in the sunlight when the insect is in flight.
The dragonfly's long and slender body is colored brown, blue or green. He has compound eyes covering most of his head, and they look like a cluster of beads. He can see objects that are motionless up to six feet away, and moving objects that are up to 78 feet away from him.
Six legs covered with spines help the dragonfly to perch on twigs and limbs. He cannot walk, but he has another good use for his legs: as he flies through the air he holds his legs to form a basket in which he captures insects.
Once the prey has been grasped with his legs, he can transfer it to his jaws and eat while flying.
Dragonflies have been clocked at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. They are so swift that they can usually outfly birds or other animals. Some species now extinct had wingspreads of two and a half feet. Today's dragonflies are just a few inches long.
Mating for the dragonfly is done while in flight. The female then drops her eggs from the air into the water or inside the stem of water plants. Young dragonflies, called nymphs, hatch from the eggs within five to 15 days. They have thick bodies, big heads and mouths but no wings. They breathe by means of gills since the first one to five years of their lives are spent as water animals.
Dragonfly nymphs shed their skin about 12 times as they slowly develop into adults. The final molt happens out of water. They shed their skin for the last time and emerge as flying adults with wings.
Once the dragonfly has reached adulthood and can fly, he will live only a few weeks or a few months at the most. During this adult period he will mate and start the life cycle over again.
Dragonflies help man by feeding on harmful insects. They have been called devil's darning needles, snake doctors, snake feeders, horse stingers and mule killers.