Dragonflies: Eyesight, Color, and Flight, Oh My! --- by Anastasia Pavlack --- Muhlenberg College Class of 2016

Insects are customarily seen as creepy crawly pests that invade our communities and homes.  Yes, they can be nuisances at times, but insects are also very beautiful and magnificent creatures if you take the time to really appreciate and understand them.  The colorful and high-flying dragonfly is one majestic insect that comes to mind.  Dragonflies are aquatic insects that live in fresh water environments.  One of the greatest things about dragonflies is that they are completely harmless to humans!  These organisms are particularly fascinating because of their remarkable eyesight, brilliantly vibrant colors, and unusual flight tactics.

Dragonflies have large compound eyes that give rise to their keen eyesight. They are able to see in front and behind them at the same time with these marvelous multifaceted eyes.  Each facet of the eye is called an ommatidia, which houses their light sensitive proteins that allow them to see.  Because they have different proteins, called opsins, than we do in our eyes, dragonflies are able to see colors such as ultraviolet light that we are not able to see.  These proteins in their 30,000 ommmatidia allow them to see a picture of the world that is much different than what we can see.  Ommatidium also allow dragonflies to detect the speed of their prey by light detection.  It’s amazing how such a small organism can have such complex and wonderful eyes!

 Many dragonfly species are also very brightly colored, a distinct and astonishing characteristic of dragonflies.  Colors can vary depending on the temperature of the environment and the gender of the dragonfly.  During their long lifespans, their colors can change as they mature, with little color when they are young and vivid colors as they get older.  The color of a dragonfly’s body cultivates after its first feeding after metamorphosis.   Instead of being a dull black or brown color, these insects can have vibrant blue or emerald green colors, making them beautiful and vivacious creatures!

 Flight is an important part of a dragonfly’s life, as it is their primary way of movement.  They have two pairs of wings, a forewing and a hindwing, that they use to fly.  Each of these wings have separate muscles that allow them to fly all different ways for accuracy when catching prey and avoiding predators.  While they do have this mobility that is important to their lifestyle, dragonflies hold their wings to the side, which means they are not able to fold them over their backs like most insects. 

The way dragonflies fly depend on how they maneuver their wings.  They can hover, change direction quickly, and glide through the air.  Their flight patterns are scattered at best, but captivating nonetheless.  Their choppy flight is yet again due to their separate muscles, and this along with their keen eyesight allows them to catch up to 95% of the prey they go after.  Migration is commonly thought of in the cases of birds, but interestingly enough dragonflies migrate too!  Only certain dragonflies migrate, but the ones that do migrate travel in large swarms.  Not much is known about dragonfly migration but that they migrate between July and October.  These creatures might not be so adorable in a swarm of thousands!

Dragonflies are fascinating creatures with their beautifully vivacious colors, interesting flight patters, and notable compound eyes.  In the Lehigh Valley, we can see those eight types of dragonflies soaring around the sky and around the creeks and rivers.  They are present in places like Allentown Rose Garden or the Jordan River during the warmer months, creating a mystical ambience.  I love just sitting at the Rose Garden, admiring the beautiful scenery and seeing dragonflies soaring through the air.  You are more likely to see dragonflies around a fresh water source because they tend to stay away from polluted areas.  Without these amazing creatures, our world would not be as magnificent of a place! 

Dragonflies: Eyesight, Color, and Flight, Oh My! by Anastasia Pavlack is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.