Page 90 - 2005 DT 12 Issues

Dragons and Damsels sting or otherwise cause harm to hu- of their three life-cycles in and near
mans. That long abdomen carries no the water, but leave it for good as full
Lonesomely clings the Dragonfly to the stinger. To a human finger, a dragon’s adults, dispersing far and wide. Both
underside of the leaf “bite” would feel like gentle gumming species go through the egg, the larval,
Ah! The Autumn rain. or pinching. and the imago or adult stage. They
—Japanese poem Dragonflies and damselflies be- populate every U.S. state, but species
long to the order Odonata (“toothed vary widely.
ere they come . . . a squadron ones”) which includes some of the While most of the approximately
of tiny fighter planes diving most beautiful and ancient insects 400 known dragonfly species stay put
Hand darting on the warm sum- that ever lived. Though their earliest year-round, some dozen prefer to get
mer breeze. It’s dragonfly season, bad fossils date to about 295 million years out of town during the winter. No one
news for mosquitoes, gnats, midges, ago, their ancestors go back some 325 is certain where they go or how they
mites, water skimmers, cicadas, and a million years to the Upper Carbonifer- navigate. To solve that problem, a
host of other tasty critters. ous, predating the dinosaurs by over research team at Princeton University
Dragons are large, with two wings 100 million years and birds by 150 in New Jersey began tagging a group
on each side of their long, streamlined million years. These “Protodonta” are of Green Darners in September, 2005
bodies and the biggest eyes in the now extinct, but fossilized remains with radio transmitters. The one-centi-
insect world relative to their size. Un- show them as fast-flying progenitors meter-long, battery powered transmit-
like most other winged insects they of modern Odonata with wing spans ters will allow scientists to track the
can hover, move at right angles—even up to 30 inches wide. fliers from the ground or from the air.
backwards—and change direction in Although closely related, dragons Similar studies are on tap to track other
milliseconds. A dragon can fly forward insects, such as locusts, and migrating
at about 100 body-lengths per second bird populations.
and backward at the rate of about three The most intriguing application
per second; some have been clocked involving dragons, however, is taking
at 35 miles per hour. They owe their place in the wind tunnel. Scientists in
impressive flight characteristics to fluid dynamics at the University of
wing design—the long front wings Tennessee are studying ways to design
and the slightly shorter, narrower back wings that will work like a dragonfly’s
wings—which can beat independently (though not look like them) for fighter
of each other. Small but powerful “tor- planes, enabling them to change course
nadoes” of air move along each front quickly and out-fly their opponents.
wing, while the back wings prevent But no matter how successful the
these “tornadoes” from breaking up. project’s outcome, it will not likely
An aggressive carnivore, a dragon ever duplicate the amazing talents of
seldom misses a meal thanks to its the dragonfly. ❏
flight prowess. Its large compound Common damselfly
eyes, each of which is composed of Oliver Ranch Clean-up
nearly 28,000 individual elements, and damsels represent two different
cover most of its head enabling it suborders: Anisoptera (dragons) and anger Jim Cribbs is asking
to see well ahead. More important, Zygoptera (damsels). The smaller, for volunteers for a clean-up
slower damsels are more slender than
it has expanded peripheral vision, a dragons and their two wings sets are Rat Oliver Ranch on Saturday,
formidable advantage for a predator. of equal size. They spend their entire September 10. If you can help, call him
Few victims can escape its long arms lives around water, never venturing at 515-5234 or 515-5350 for details
and strong teeth. Contrary to popular from their birth pond. Dragons, on and sign-up. Volunteers will meet at
mythology, dragonflies do not bite, the other hand, spend the first two the Oliver gate on Rte. 159 at 8 a.m.

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