The Season of Romance
March 18, 2009
Sunny's Guesthouse (阳光客栈), Duoyishu, Yuanyang, Yunnan
How many creatures on earth actually fly, physically, as they make love (under their own power)?
Well, perhaps many. Among those unnumbered copulatory aviators is one species in particular that always impresses in this aspect.
The dragonfly. Dragon of flies. Fly of dragons. Elegant. Enormous (for a fly).
And after they make love?
The magic is just beginning, of course. There are eggs, fertilized eggs, and they hatch. Larval nymphs (蛹) hatch from these eggs.
Wikipedia says:
"Most of a dragonfly's life is spent in the naiad (that is, nymph) form, beneath the water's surface, using extendable jaws to catch other invertebrates or even vertebrates such as tadpoles, fish, etc. They breathe through gills in their rectum, and can rapidly propel themselves by suddenly expelling water through the anus."
Wow, they're pretty big!
