This post has nothing to do with archaeology, anthropology, or giants.
Well, that's probably not true. As a fan of complexity science, I have learned never to assume that different phenomena or domains of inquiry are not somehow related. So I can't explain exactly if and how I will eventually incorporate dragonflies into my work, but I shouldn't say that I won't. Because I probably will. Because they're awesome. Anyway, it's my blog and I'll write about whatever I want.
Well, that's probably not true. As a fan of complexity science, I have learned never to assume that different phenomena or domains of inquiry are not somehow related. So I can't explain exactly if and how I will eventually incorporate dragonflies into my work, but I shouldn't say that I won't. Because I probably will. Because they're awesome. Anyway, it's my blog and I'll write about whatever I want.
White-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), adult male. Battle Creek, MI, August 2014.
Common whitetail (Plathemis lydia), adult male. Ann Arbor, MI, May 2015.
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I have loved dragonflies since I was a little kid. I grew up on a farm that had a ditch running through it (I used to think it was a creek, but now I know it was a ditch), and I remember very clearly trying to catch dragonflies using whatever means possible. I would try to grab them. I would throw stuff at them. I would try to knock them out of the air with water. If you've ever spent any time watching them, you'll appreciate their agility - they can turn on a dime in flight and go from traveling at blurrying speed to a dead stop in what seems like an instant. They're remarkable to observe and very tough to catch. They were not in much danger from me. I only remember one time where I successfully got my hands on one. It quickly bit me and I quickly let it go.
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Over the past year or so, I have re-kindled my love affair with dragonflies and have taken to trying to photograph them. Noticing the small pieces of the world comes naturally when you go for walks with little kids: the slowed pace gives you the opportunity to train your attention on details that you might otherwise gloss over. So the dragonflies have started popping out at me again, and I've started looking for them.
Dragonflies can be tough quarry. I have yet to photograph one in flight - they're just too fast and they move too frequently. When they stop flying, they don't tend to sit still for long and will often quickly zoom off when approached. I've attempted identifications from the few clear, close-up photos I've managed to get, but I'm not an insect person in the sense that I have any professional expertise or training, so it's more-or-less educated guesswork based on the information that's available online and in the book A Field Guide to Insects by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White. That second author is my uncle, which may also have something to do with my childhood interest in the small world that has now carried over into my adult life.
Of the many fascinating things about dragonflies (did you know they live their lives as predators in two worlds, the first aquatic and the second aerial?), the one that I find the most interesting on a professional level is their variation in coloration. As a group, dragonflies exhibit a bewildering array of colors (produced by both pigments and structural coloration) and I wonder how that variability in color is structured and what explains it. I know that some of it is related to sex (male and female dragonflies of the same species are often different colors - this is most easily noticed while they're mating, which they do a lot), suggesting the colors play a role in identifying and attracting mates. There is also a lot of inter-species variability. Dragonflies have great eyesight and their brains (capable of rapidly calculating and adjusting flight trajectories to intercept their prey in mid-air) must be built to process a lot of information about color. The patterns of coloration exhibited by dragonflies remind me of those we can see in birds and imagine among at least some dinosaurs.
I'm guessing I'll probably use some data about dragonflies in my work someday (along with my data about aircraft and aircraft engines, information I've collected on the evolution of firearms and cameras, data on dinosaur speciations, and who knows what else), but for now I actually like being somewhat ignorant about most of the technical details and just wondering about them and their world. So I'm not planning on wading into the dragonfly literature anytime soon. For now I'll just enjoy watching them.
But if you're a dragonfly person and you see that I've misidentified something, please let me know.
Dragonflies can be tough quarry. I have yet to photograph one in flight - they're just too fast and they move too frequently. When they stop flying, they don't tend to sit still for long and will often quickly zoom off when approached. I've attempted identifications from the few clear, close-up photos I've managed to get, but I'm not an insect person in the sense that I have any professional expertise or training, so it's more-or-less educated guesswork based on the information that's available online and in the book A Field Guide to Insects by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White. That second author is my uncle, which may also have something to do with my childhood interest in the small world that has now carried over into my adult life.
Of the many fascinating things about dragonflies (did you know they live their lives as predators in two worlds, the first aquatic and the second aerial?), the one that I find the most interesting on a professional level is their variation in coloration. As a group, dragonflies exhibit a bewildering array of colors (produced by both pigments and structural coloration) and I wonder how that variability in color is structured and what explains it. I know that some of it is related to sex (male and female dragonflies of the same species are often different colors - this is most easily noticed while they're mating, which they do a lot), suggesting the colors play a role in identifying and attracting mates. There is also a lot of inter-species variability. Dragonflies have great eyesight and their brains (capable of rapidly calculating and adjusting flight trajectories to intercept their prey in mid-air) must be built to process a lot of information about color. The patterns of coloration exhibited by dragonflies remind me of those we can see in birds and imagine among at least some dinosaurs.
I'm guessing I'll probably use some data about dragonflies in my work someday (along with my data about aircraft and aircraft engines, information I've collected on the evolution of firearms and cameras, data on dinosaur speciations, and who knows what else), but for now I actually like being somewhat ignorant about most of the technical details and just wondering about them and their world. So I'm not planning on wading into the dragonfly literature anytime soon. For now I'll just enjoy watching them.
But if you're a dragonfly person and you see that I've misidentified something, please let me know.
Unidentified. Ann Arbor, MI, May 2015.
Common whitetail (Plathemis lydia), adult female. Ann Arbor, MI, May 2015.
Twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella), adult female. I'm basing this ID on the continuous stripe on the sides of the abdomen (as opposed to the spots on the common whitetail). Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
A common whitetail (female) eating a swamp mosquito. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015. I also took video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBlvYw8ELFU&feature=youtu.be
Common whitetail in the act of laying eggs (video below). Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
I think this is a painted skimmer (Libellula semifasciata), but it's the only one I've seen. The eyes are green, while in the photos of painted skimmers I've found they appear more brown. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Close-up of what I think is a painted skimmer. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Painted turtles and a common whitetail. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), adult female. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
I think this is an immature meadowhawk (Sympetrum sp.). I saw two of them, relatively small and flying weakly in the short grass. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Another immature meadowhawk (Sympetrum sp.). I came across a section of grass/brush today (6/10/2015) that had many of these little ones perching in it. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Pronghorn clubtail (Gomphus graslinellus)? Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
This is the best picture I've managed to get so far of the large green darners (Anax junius) that apparently never land. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Another widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), adult female. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Black saddlebags (Tramea lacerata). Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Black saddlebags close up. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
White-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), adult male. Ann Arbor, MI, June 2015.
Four-spotted skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata). DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Four-spotted skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata), DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. Is this also a four-spotted skimmer? It was in the same habitat, but had green eyes and looked like it was wearing a fur coat. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. I rescued this one from a spider web. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
Unidentified. DeTour Village, MI, June 2015.
White-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), adult male. Ann Arbor, MI, July 2015.
Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa). Ann Arbor, MI, July 2015.
White-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), adult male. He was tired from flying in a strong wind and let me pick him up. Ann Arbor, MI, July 2015.
White-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum), adult female. Ann Arbor, MI, July 2015.
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