Red Dragonfly 04

by Weston Westmoreland

Title

Red Dragonfly 04

Artist

Weston Westmoreland

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

A red dragonfly at rest.

A male Kirby's dragonfly, Trithemis kirbyi, rests on the shadow of her body and her orange and transparent wings.

Trithemis kirbyi, also known as the Kirby's dropwing, orange-winged dropwing, or scarlet rock glider, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. This beautiful dragonfly can be found all across Africa, and also in southern Europe and south Asia.

Dragonflies undergo an incomplete metamorphosis with a series of nymphal stages from which the adult emerges. Eggs laid inside plant tissues take about a week to hatch into aquatic nymphs or naiads which moult between six and 15 times (depending on species) as they grow. Most of a dragonfly's life is spent as a nymph, beneath the water's surface. The nymph extends its hinged labium (a toothed mouthpart similar to a lower mandible, normally folded and held before the face) that can extend forward and retract rapidly to capture prey such as mosquito larvae, tadpoles, and small fish. They breathe through gills in their rectum, and can rapidly propel themselves by suddenly expelling water through the anus. Some naiads hunt on land.

The larval stage of dragonflies lasts between two months and five years. When the naiad is ready to metamorphose into an adult, it climbs up a reed or other emergent plant, and moults (ecdysis). Its skin begins to split at a weak spot behind the head and the adult dragonfly crawls out of its larval skin, the exuvia, arching backwards. It completes its emergence, swallowing air, which plumps out its body, and pumping haemolymph into its wings, which causes them to expand to their full extent.

Those fast and acrobatic flying insects are hard to catch still. However, I believe it is worth the effort. Lovely creatures for those who can appreciate the beauty of insects beyond butterflies and ladybugs. For those who cannot, their loss...

Dragonflies belong to the order Odonata, suborder Anisoptera. Fossils of very large dragonfly ancestors are found from 325 million years ago in Upper Carboniferous rocks, long before dinosaurs roamed the earth; these had wingspans up to about 30 inches. About 3000 species of Anisoptera are in the world today. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions.

Dragonflies are predators. Several years of their lives are spent as nymphs living in fresh water; the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks. They are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and are often found near water.

More macro images one copy paste away in my Small Worlds Gallery at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/small+worlds


More wildlife one copy-paste away in my gallery at http://westonwestmoreland.com/collections/fauna

You can learn more about what drives me in my blog:

http://inspiringthoughtsandimages.com/

Weston Westmoreland

Uploaded

August 9th, 2021

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