Dragonflies by Pieter van Dokkum: Magnificent Creatures of Temperate, Tropical Water, Air, and Land

Afterword, bibliography, and index follow the illustrated info-book’s eight chapters. The chapters go chronologically through dragonfly natural histories. They therefore handle:

• eggs deposited as pinhead-like spheres or rice-like cylinders in or near quiet lake, marsh, meadow, pond, pool, river, stream waters;
• larvae hatched within 30 days to 1 – 6 years as gill-breathing, grass- or mud-colored, worm-like naiads hungry for caddis-flies, fleas, midges, minnows, shrimp, snails, tadpoles, worms and pursued by fish, frogs, newts, salamanders, toads, water-birds, water-spiders; and
• mature females and males released after 9 – 17 molts for 2-8 weeks of breathing through exterior spiracles and interior trachea, eluding birds, frogs, and foraging for butterflies, caddis-flies, flies, mayflies, mosquitoes, moths to prepare for mating and producing eggs. 

The egg stage is defended by ambient coloration and sticky jelly whereas the larval and mature stages respectively look to:

• dual-hinged, fast-moving, head-masking, hook-tipped mouthpart to catch prey and discourage predators; and
• forward, horizontal, reverse, sideways, vertical speeds variously estimated at 40- to 60-mile (64.37- to 96.56-kilometer) per hour maximums.

But less assuming body color joins record-breaking flight speeds only in terms of mature females and recent-emerged males. Scientists know that adults need the first 7 – 14 days after emergence from the final larval molt to finalize body color.

The experience leaves adult females dull-looking regardless of body and wing color and mature males iridescent- or metallic-looking because of:

• intra-cuticle pigments;
• intra-wing suspended liquids; and
• sub-cuticle fats.

The author/photographer merges education and research regarding:

• extra-galactic and galactic births and evolutions;
• high-redshift observations of space’s earliest, fastest, remotest configurations; and
• near-infrared imagery in medium-band filter-system research.

Image-analyzing, observing, and recording skills therefore nudge position requirements for the author/photographer’s day job and insect-related pursuits. They optimize dragonfly profiles of:

• fore-section for scary mouthparts, three daylight-sensitive simple eyes, two 180°-vision compound eyes, two odor-sensitive antennae;
• mid-section for six prey-catching legs, four independent-moving wings; and
• post-section for 10-ringed abdomen clasp-tipped in males, claw-tipped in females.

They promote culturally enriching, educationally entertaining, geo-historically enthralling backyard-scaping with:

• bank-side brambles, grasses, heathers, rushes, sedges; and
• emergent, floating, marginal, submerged plants.

They never question dragonfly presences as other than super-healthy, super-observable, super-welcome. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Macro photo of compound eye of Common Darter dragonfly: 30,000 ommatidia, hexagonal facets, create an intricate mosaic of images that account for sophisticated vision enjoyed by dragonflies.
Pieter van Dokkum, Professor and Chair of Yale University's Astronomy Department as well as a dragonfly enthusiast, co-designed an extraordinary telescope inspired by dragonfly eyes.
Copenhagen Botanical Garden, eastern Denmark: mcamcamca, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/27461854@N04/4956909057/

A method of laying eggs common to skimmers (Libellulidae) such as Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum):
Holding female in tandem, male guides her to water surface for broadcasting mid-air to allow eggs to fall on water.
Dunyeats Hill Nature Reserve, East Dorset, South West England: Ian Kirk from Broadstone, Dorset, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_sparkling_love_affair!_(10671222114).jpg

dragonflies in flight: agile, colorful, swift flashes as four wings are synchronized for optimum velocity
male Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta); Viladecans, Catalonia, northeastern Spain: Ferran Pestaña (ferran pestaña), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ferranp/5080018607/

Resting dragonflies extend their wings.
side view of male Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum); Wednesday, July 13, 2005: André Karwath aka Aka, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sympetrum_flaveolum_-_side_(aka).jpg

Four globe skimmers (Pantala flavescens) extend their wings to rest.
Talakaveri, Coorg District, Karnataka State, southwest India; Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006, 07:10: Shyamal, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PantalaFlavescensTalakaveri.jpg

Colburn, Elizabeth A. 2004. Vernal Pools: Natural History and Conservation. Blacksburg, VA; and Granville, OH: McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company. 

van Dokkum, Pieter. 2015. Dragonflies. New Haven, CT, U.S.A.: Yale University Press. 

Wortman, Marc. 15 June 2015. “Astronomer Pieter Van Dokkum Photographs Dragonflies Up Close and Personal.” The Daily Beast. 

• Available at: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/15/astronomer-pieter-van-dokkum-photographs-dragonflies-up-close-and-personal.html