As you’ve been walking round the reserve you may have notice some dragons flying around. Well dragonflies, though the closer you look they almost seem as mythical! They are fantastic fliers, able to change direction in any direction with great agility. The other thing you’ll notice when you see a dragonfly is their beautiful colours. With over 3000 species of dragonfly worldwide, you can find one in any colour you like.
They are sometime confused with damselflies (damsels and dragons, it’s starting to sound like a fairytale!) while they have similar body shapes, damselflies tend to be lighter in build and hold their wings against their bodies. Whereas dragonflies hold their wings flat and away from their bodies.
Before they turn into dragonflies they are called nymphs, these are small insects that live in the water (you may even find a few when you go pond dipping!). They will stay like this for the majority of their lives! When they are ready to become dragonflies, they raise to the surface with their head out of the water and waits to get used to breathing air. They will then climb onto a nearby plant and then the dragonfly will slowly emerge from inside. When out they will take some big gulps of air to puff themselves up to their full size. Then you have a fully fledged dragonfly!
They have superhuman powers as well, their eyesight is incredible. Dragonflies (and bees) have the largest compound eyes of any insect. Normal house flies have about 6,000 elements to their eyes, dragonflies have 30,000! They are also able to see things we don’t such as UV light, which makes them a force to be reckoned with if they want to catch you!
Dragonflies are seen as symbols of many different things across the world. In Japan dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength and happiness. For Native American Navajo they symbolise water. However across Europe they are often seen as bad omens associated with evil-doing and bad health. Whatever the symbol, people have always been fascinated with dragonflies and they have regularly appeared in literature and poetry. For example Alfred Tennyson wrote about a dragonfly emerging from its nymph form in his poem “The Dragon-Fly” (1833)
“Today I saw the dragon-fly Come from the wells where he did lie. An inner impulse rent the veil Of his old husk: from head to tail Came out clear plates of sapphire mail. He dried his wings: like gauze they grew; Thro’ crofts and pastures wet with dew A living flash of light he flew.”
Both Damselflies and dragonflies can be found in various spots around the reserve. So next time you’re here try to find some damsels, or hunt a dragon!