What Makes Dragonflies So Extraordinary 

I have a little artificial dragonfly that I pin to my hat, and it seems to keep the mosquitoes and deerflies away.

My yard suffers from mosquitoes from April through June. Then, for some reason, a host of dragonflies descends and the annual Great Mosquito Massacre occurs. Love me some dragonflies!

That footage of the frog jumping and missing because the dragonfly quickly took off was amazing.

When I lived in the FL everglades and would ride my bike at almost dusk I would be surrounded by dragonflies hunting for the mosquitoes I was attracting -- it was somewhat magical, I thought of it as (not swimming with the dolphins but) riding with the dragonflies 🌴

30 MPH is flat out amazing for such a small animal. Dr Ware's nerdish enthusiasm is cool.

Not only are they good flyers, dragonflies are intelligent too. Now they won't be winning any maths contests and they're not interested in solving puzzles, but they really do make the best possible use of their tiny brains and huge eyes. They have fantastic 3D spatial awareness and can accurately estimate speeds and trajectories of all things around them. They don't just chase after prey, they intercept them in flight.

She is delightful! I already love dragon flies but she made this an A+ production, she's so entertaining and knowledgeable, warm and funny, all at the same time. Great Job!

I just have a memory of my dad pulling the bark off a tree in our yard when I was like 4. He called me out there specifically to see this. It was a big piece of bark. When he did, out flew tons of Dragonflies. I was both horrified and it was like magic. Couldn't process what should be my reaction. I decided that since they didn't harm me, they were the most beautiful and noble with head movements like a horse when you talk to one on a clothes line. It's like they listen and nod and tilt their head like they understand. Also, hummingbirds. My two favorite yard guests of honor.

Dr Ware is a fantastic communicator

Even at the end of their life cycle, dragonflies are beneficial to the health of the ecosystem. While kayaking along the shore of the Great Slave Lake in Canada, I saw dragonflies in the thousands after they had reproduced at the end of their life cycle die and fall into the water. Several hundred ducks were paddling around eating them as they settled on the water. I imagine this is an important source of food for ducks in the fall before they start their long migration south.

We love all insects, but we're pretty partial to Team Odonata. Time machine goal: seeing Meganeura in flight!

I love listening to scientists like this who are knowledgeable, passionate, and thoughtful. They usually have an optimistic view of the world and want to use their specific field of study to help the world at large.

They're so fascinating! Our camera crew spent a whole summer in a lake, observing their behaviour and getting some astonishing close-ups; the footage is so amazing!

I had no idea dragonflies were so good at flying! This video really helped me form a deeper appreciation for dragonflies :)

Ayumu Sasaki, grand prix motorcycle racer, has always featured dragonflies in the designs on his helmets. The artwork has varied, classical or stylised, the depictions of dragonflies on samurai helmets made me smile and think of this very talented young rider. I always thought the inspiration was the maneuverability of a racing motorcycle, but maybe it is in homage to those helmets of his ancestors.

With special audio guest, my favorite insect: CICADAS

a friend who passed away in 2021 at a far too young of an age held that dragonflies were part of the afterlife, loved ones returning to check on us, the first time that another friend and I were able to meet after her death a dragonfly laned on me as we sat at the outside table. Our family and friends all see dragonflies as Steff coming by to see us.

"Just smaller than a Crow" holy shit! Insect that large is incredible. Give those insects their due! They're incredible even today.

I have revived Dragon flies that were incapsulated in ice. The first time, I found one Griff Creek, North Lake Tahoe, I had a hunch, removed it from the ice and water, warmed it up and sure enough it flew away. the next time it was late fall, it had rained, filled an empty bowl with rain water and one got trapped and over night the water froze. So when I found him in the morning I removed the sheet of ice his wings were inside of and set it in the sun. You have to be carful, it's a slow process. It helps to blow your breath on them, that seems to really do the trick. Eventually he started to wiggle and move around, then took off. I have some photos and video if anyone is interested.

I was told years ago that if a dragonfly would land on you it would bring you good luck.

When my oldest daughter was younger, I told her a story I had heard as a child. Dragonflies turn into Fairies at night, and that during the day you could talk to them and they would remember you and seek you out at night as a Fairy 🧚‍♀️ . She would enjoy hours of talking to her dragonflies by the water sitting on hugh rocks in the sun. It was magical. With my Grand daughter I took it a step furthur, and together we built a beautiful Fairy garden underneath an old tree in my front yard, complete with Fairy houses, benches, and a tiny doghouse complete with a tiny dog. He magically comes to life at night with the Fairies, of course. Needless to say, we all love dragonflies. ❤

So well executed. great writers behind this.

Dragonflies are truly amazing insects and love having them around the yard when the mosquitos are prevalent. I wasn't aware that the Dragonflies lineage was one of the oldest until I recently watched the Netflix series 'Life on our Planet' narrated by Morgan Freeman. Now I am also aware of the different styles of Dragonflies wings. Many thanks.

I love to photograph them with my macro lens. Year after year there are less dragonflies and damselflies as are other insects.

Dragonflies are one of the few insects I like! I'm glad to see they get their own video.

Dragonflies made growing up in the Louisiana wetlands manageable. Used to sit on the porch and watch the winged dragons snatch horseflies and mosquitos we attracted out of the air.

I remember when I was a young child playing in the sandbox, which was in a fenced-in corner of the property beside the garage a Dragonfly hovered over the only way in or out for a good half hour, not sure what it was doing but I was terrified and will never forget that day XD

Yes. More videos about insects. Drangon flies are my body guards✨

There is something so beautifully comforting about seeing black folk be so happily engaged in nature in this way, they were beyond informational & engaging & I loved it 🪰💓🪰

I love these guys! They started showing up after I made a pond from an above ground pool. They are excellent hunters of pests like Mosquitoes and Flies. They have a larval stage that needs water which is why they showed up in the pond.

Indigenous people in the south west U.S. believe dragonflies are connected to water and are sacred. They are often depicted in the art- as a way of requesting more water. Most excellent presentation. Interesting, very informative, educational.

Thank you for this topic! Please more on other insect topics. 🎉

Holy crap. I knew dragonflies were cool ever since I was a kid. I didn't realize they were THIS C O O L !

Dragon fly lore. My ‘fishing with a dragon fly’ experience. They are my favorite insects, beauty, design, agility and dare say intelligence? I fished a pond in Northern California consistently for many years. Teeming with flora, aquatic life and dragon flies, I came to observe, admire and become fascinated with these amazing creatures. I would fish from a very small, one man raft, nearly at water level, sitting down. I used an artificial lure, which requires successive, multiple casts and retrievals. After several casts and returns, I noticed a dragon fly following ( flying after) my cast lure to the point it hit the water, and then hovering there. Thinking this was a fluke, I repeated the cast, retrieval sequence several more times, it really was happening. Whats more the dragon fly would follow my lure’s retrieval back to me (the raft) and then, this is even more amazing, it would position (hover) itself above and behind me, at rod level, as I raised and drew back the rod to cast again. It seemed as if it was waiting for me to cast again, so we could start the whole cast, follow, retrieve, cast sequence again. I tested this occurrence more than a dozen times and each time it was the same. I was left with this over whelming wonderful feeling that I had somehow connected with? communicated with? nature, an insect no less, and we were actually playing a game together of cross species ‘go fetch’.

These two are awesome. @pbsterra, the video description deserves to have Rhema Uche-Dike's name in it with Dr Ware's

The OG fliers, literally

8:46 That shot with the frog trying to eat the dragonfly was incredible

I absolutely love dragonflies 💞 Thank you for this episode

Incredible video, content and presentation just top notch.

Yesssssssssssssssss Dragonflies are so so so awesome

Odonata are also my favorites. This is a delightful video!!!

I love dragonfly since I was a kid I thought of them as mini helicopter ❤

Good video! As someone who identifies macroinvertebrates, it's nice to put a face to one of the people responsible for our ever improving taxonomy, even if splitting Gomphus into a bunch of genera was a big pain in the butt for me.

I've always loved them. Magical creatures!

When I was younger in areas of Florida we called them "Mosquito Hawks" and everyone understood to respect them. Somewhere over time after many people started moving to Florida the "Dragonfly" name replaced "Mosquito Hawk" and people became terrified of them. Now pretty much everyone has no clue what they are and are told they will be attacked or bitten by them, so people actively seek to kill them. I wish we could go back to calling them "Mosquito Hawks" if for no other reason than to protect these beautiful creatures.

I am so jealous of that dragonfly pin.

I love watching dragonfly aerobatics.

dragonflies are just so cool. Definitely my fav flying insect! I can stare at them for hours. what a fun video! i learned so much!

Always been one of my favourite creatures. A flawless predator with super abilities. We occasionally get massive swarms of them in Adelaide where I live. Never realised they actually did swarm until the first time I saw it. Amazing.

My Nigerian brothers doing SCIENCE!. much love from Home

Last summer I was eating lunch in my truck facing a small wet grassy ditch between the parking lot and the road. One dragonfly would fly low down the center of the ditch and scare up mosquitos while the others waited at the sides. When the mosquitos would fly up the others would swoop in and eat them. Then the process would repeat. It was so cool and obvious what they were doing.

Sounds like dragonflies can be put in the same club as sharks and crocodiles; been around forever and highly successful.

Dragonflies are a good omen. They ward off minor annoyances to help you focus on your quest.

This documentary was a treat in every way. The chemistry between the two scientists was amazing.

Love me some excellent Dragonfly content, very well done ya'll

Dragonflies are totally boss.

It's fascinating to learn how people who are dedicated to their work become so enamored. Did you have a "magic moment" as a kid when you decided it was going to be dragonflies? I love them because they're flying sculptures, art on the wing, on the wind. Thanks for your work.

Evinrude was my favorite Disney character when I was a kid. Excellent program on the best insect ever!

When i was a child, the term for a "dragonfly" here in the South, was "mosquito hawk". I rarely hear that term used in this day and age.

Thanks for including views of our Tiffany "Dragfonly" Lamps at the end of this fascinating episode. While we are expert about Tiffany's lamps, we didn't know much about the dragonfly and we learned a lot. What extraordinary insects! Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a way that is entertaining and accessible.

I love her enthusiasm for a creature many people aren't even aware of.

As much as I love Dragonflies, I have to thank you for introducing me to Red-winged Blackbirds @8:25 Love birds, too.

they are by far the most adaptable predators known

Fun fact: If you are the chill type you can hold up a finger and get a dragonfly with enough trust to perch on it. And they will just gladly hang out there. :3

Omg I love this presenter I could learn all day

Dragonflies are my favorite insects, too! I love that they're fierce and delicate at the same time, and their colors and wing patterns and flight fascinate me. I'm still learning to identify them (and I'll admit, the sexual dimorphism throws me sometimes.) There's a pond in the Adirondacks that I visit periodically during the summer where I can sit and watch them for hours. Depending on when I visit, I'll see entirely different sets of species. They're fearless, too-- they'll let me get *incredibly* close (within a couple of inches) to photograph them, sometimes even taking off and landing again immediately in the same spot at a more advantageous angle, as if they're posing for their close-up. My grandmother (who was from southern Germany) always used to say that it was good luck to have a dragonfly light on you.

Many Native American Tribes consider Dragonflies as carriers of their Ancestor's Souls...Dragonflies are very Sacred to me! Thanks for your enthusiastic caring for them!! Love this vid!!

Simply the best. Better than all the rest. ✨

Love it! I want to bug out and I’m stoked on dragonflies ❤❤❤ great video. And vibes❤

I have LOVED dragonflies since I was a toddler visiting my grandfather by the lake. I had never seen such a wonderous creature! It reminded me of a biplane.

Absolutely facinating!! Worthy of a multi episode series!

As a child I imagined dragon flys as large as birds. I was hysterical when one chased me- when kids are little- little things look ginormous. Love seeing them fly in the summer.

The nymph stage is interesting also.

I love what I learned here 🙏🏾☺️

Her natural appreciation at such a young age is very cool

The highest tech flying machine ever - and it is the first to appear on the scene. Wow - Random mutations are genius.

These two minds are awesome glad to hear them

One of the ancient names for Japan was Akitsushima, meaning Dragonfly Island. This is one of the first recorded names for the region, mentioned in the Kojiki. Where I'm working in Vietnam the local lore is that if the dragonflies are flying low to the ground it will rain soon.

Funny that she mentioned that story of a dragonfly chasing away something near her. I had a red wasp trying to attack me the other day as i was sitting down (i'm very allergic to them), and i had a dragonfly come chase it away multiple times, and then would come land on the table each time right in front of me and facing me as if it was saying "i got you bro, no worries", lol.

Thank you for luring me into your fantastic presentation called 'libelles' in my native language. You both impress me with your passion.

I love dragonflies, and this video was excellent!

I always loved them because they remind me of helicopters

I was kayaking once, and this female dragonfly got down into my boat where she tried to oviposit in my bare leg numerous times. Interesting feeling.

This is just fabulous, thankyou so much for a well told story and a chance to meet some seriously cool people. I never realised dragonflies had all this going on :)

You have to love an insect thats eats mosquitoes, deer flies & horse, & their hunting techniques are fascinating, all while looking pretty. Their emergence from a fierce looking aquatic stage to a beautiful flier is slow, but worthwhile if you make the time to watch.

Cool!!!🌟🌟💯💯

They're dragons, and they're flies!

Thanks for educating me on dragonflies I had no idea how special they are

Those closeups are amazing

I let my son pool have the water in it over winter. I noticed these creepy moulted exoskeleton of an insect just above the pool water edge. There were so many of them. I found out by accident that they’re the nymphs of dragonflies. It made me happy to know that I helped dragonflies repopulate and come to maturity and fly away.

Oh how I love odonates so very much! Here in Portland, Oregon the Johnson Creek Watershed Council has volunteers survey for odonates and it is one of my most favorite summer activities! It's so exciting to swoop a good specimen in your net and do a photo shoot of it!

I've always loved dragon flies since I was a child. And I always imagined how they must have evolved since dinosaurs times. But now I know they are even older.😮 Thank you for the knowledge and your work.

I remember seeing the tall reeds and grasses in the Everglades and it appeared that everyone had a dragonfly resting on top and once witnessed a massive cloud of them the sound was amazing

I've mostly seen "perchers" on land, but then on this pond behind where I used to live, I saw them fly or hover. But I thought they were both the same insect. Thanks for this cool info!

Love love love them !!! One time a dragonfly positioned itself in front of my bike while I was riding!!! Very colorful and gorgeous… then took of … and came back again in the SA,Poe position fir few more seconds.. I was Mesmerized!!! It has been my animal spirit even before that ❤️❤️❤️😊

She’s amazing! And thank you to both/everyone doing this work.

The Ornithopters of DUNE were designed with the individual Dragon fly wings maneuverability in mind.

I love dragonflies! This made me happy. A few years ago, I was looking for a book to learn more about dragonflies.Unfortunatey, I was unable to find one.

I love love their compound eyes

Excellent. Enjoyed immensely. Photography beyond excellent.