Don’t be afraid of dragons
IN the early part of last century Horace Phillips Lovecraft wrote: ‘The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown’.
This obviously applies to a lot of things in life including the perception of wildlife and, in particular, insects.
For some people it is bad enough having flies buzzing around your head and then the horror is ramped up when bees and wasps arrive. So imagine the sheer terror when a three-inch long dragonfly heads your way?
At the moment – and into October – brown hawker dragonflies can be seen cruising about two feet above the ground like First World War biplanes. I was leaving a festival in July last year and watched, intrigued, as a brown hawker made its steady way past tents, terrifying many parents but delighting the kids.
Some people will tell you that dragonflies sting. They don’t. They look menacing because of the claspers on the males, but these are for grabbing hold of females during mating.
Females do have an ovipositor, which is a sharp attachment used to slice into plants and then deposit eggs. There have been rare occasions when a female has mistaken somebody’s leg for a plant and sliced into their leg. This hurts but it is no reason for widespread panic and it certainly isn’t the insect’s intention to injure no matter how much you have annoyed it. However, it is an aggressive insect when it is defending its territory against other dragonflies.
In the past dragonflies were described as ‘the devil’s darning needle’ which sewed up children’s lips. An old wives’ tale, although it’s a shame for some of the noisy ‘angels’ we come across on a day-to-day basis.
The brown hawker is generally seen on well-vegetated canals, marshes and reed beds as well as lakes and gravel pits. However, it can be seen some distance from its breeding grounds, hawking along woodland paths in the evening.
It is part of the hawker family which is the largest and fastest of the dragonflies. They are great to watch, catching their insect prey on the wing in mid-air. They can hover and don’t be surprised to see them flying backwards for short distances.
The chocolate brown body is easily recognised, even in flight, but on closer inspection you will see yellow and blue markings. Male bodies taper into a waist and its wings are a goldy orange colour. The female lacks the waist but has more yellow markings.
Spotting and photographing dragonflies and damselflies is a great way to spend a summer day close to your local canal or pond. The lovely summer we have had so far has made it another bumper year for these colourful insects.
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