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Dragonfly vision is thought to be like slow motion for humans. Dragonflies see faster than humans do; they see around 200 images per second. [80] A dragonfly can see in 360 degrees, and nearly 80 per cent of the insect's brain is dedicated to its sight. [81]
But as those old folktales have fallen away and been forgotten, more and more people have come to see the winged wonders as messengers of glad tidings, much like cardinals, or even the angel ...
Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies (as well as the Epiophlebia damsel-dragonflies). The two major groups are distinguished with dragonflies (Anisoptera) usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and ...
Female damselflies and some dragonflies have a strong ovipositor on the underside of S8 and S9, but in many dragonflies the egg-laying apparatus is merely a spout, a basket, or a pair of flaps. Some species have foliations (leaf-like extensions) on S8 and/or S9.
While looking quite imposing with its relatively large size and voracious appetite for other insects, the Southern Hawker is completely harmless to humans. Dragonflies sometimes are observed where the Cercus at the end of their abdomen are mistaken for claws or a stinger, however Dragonflies do not have the ability to sting.
Like dragonflies, they reproduce using indirect insemination and delayed fertilisation. A mating pair form a shape known as a "heart" or "wheel", the male clasping the female at the back of the head, the female curling her abdomen down to pick up sperm from secondary genitalia at the base of the male's abdomen.
Chalk-fronted corporals often perch horizontally on the ground or on floating objects in the water, flying up to take prey from the air. They are gregarious for dragonflies, and are commonly seen perching in groups. They readily approach humans to feed on the mosquitoes and biting flies that humans attract.
Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls. [33] The Norwegian name for dragonflies is Øyenstikker ("eye-poker"), and in Portugal, they are sometimes called tira-olhos ("eyes-snatcher"). They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name gwas-y-neidr, "adder's servant". [39]