This Naturalist 101 session featured Giff Beaton, waxing well on winged fauna - but not on waxwings, as they are birds.
(smile! Gotcha with that joke!)
Not that the man is remiss with knowledge of the avian branch of the animal kingdom, as is evidenced in several places within here.
This time, smaller winged beasts were his fancy.
The talk was titled "Dragonflies, Damselflies, and Other Aquatic Insects" and had an enthusiastic group in attendance. Including yours truly, of course! After all, as I am sure I have mentioned before, the dragonfly is my favorite prehistoric insect and quite possibly my favorite prehistoric creature. So beautiful, whether multi-hued or black and white! So impressive, with their independently-operating sets of wings, flitting rapidly or hovering near-motionless!
As for damselflies, I knew naught of them... but I do now. I also learned that the young of both are no longer called "naiads", but now are "nymphs". I also learned that the young are totally aquatic and may live that way for a year or more! But they would not make use of my bird bath, as that water source is too erratic. The adults that frequent my yard most likely have their young at the Casey Canal, just a few blocks away.
I also learned that the dragonflies I enjoy around my lantana care nothing for those flowers. No, indeed. That fauna come around the flora for the other insects that flutter and flit on and off the petals.
Dragonflies are carnivorous.
Not omnivorous like we are, carnivorous.
They weren't there for the flowers, but for the other insects that were.
I hope they leave the bees alone!
(smile)
I hope Giff Beaton will again grace us with a talk. Perhaps that will cover our fine feathered friends, especially those the shorebirds he's been photographing.
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