Thursday Thirteen #32-Dragonfly One

Thirteen Things about Dragonflies I know Im strange, but I love Dragonflies! 1.A dragonfly is any insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera.(all greek to me) It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. 2.Dragonflies are good. Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, midges and other small insects like flies, bees, and butterflies. They are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. 3.Dragonflies have excellent eyesight due to their eye structure. Their compound eyes have up to 30,000 facets, each of which is a separate light-sensing organ arranged to give nearly a 360° field of vision. 4.Europeans were not Dragonfly fans. In Europe, dragonflies have often been viewed as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "devil's needle" and "ear cutter", link them with evil or injury. A Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil, and Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls.[5] Another Swedish legend holds that trolls use the dragonflies as spindles when weaving their clothes as well as sending them to poke out the eyes of their enemies. 5.Yet Native Americans grasped their spiritual importance. It is said in some Native American beliefs that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship. 6.Japan was known as Akitsushima, which means "Land of the Dragonflies". 7. They come not only in red, fuchsia, orange, pink, blue, gold, saffron, black, emerald, maroon, earth tones, and more, but also in metallic colors. Some have colored, spotted or banded wings; others may have clear wings but clubbed abdomens or a spike on their tail. 8.No they don't bite, they look scarier then they really are. 9. Dragonflies migrate like birds and deal with the same weather conditions that song birgs do. Although dragonflies are 140 million years older than birds, according to fossil records, they abide by the same temperature and wind rules. Both groups stay put on blustery days and travel only after two days of cooling temperatures. They even use the same markers on the landscape, and rest on the same beaches. 10.Dragonfly shows us that life, like light, can bend, shift, and adapt in various ways, making life's appearance never be what it appears to be. Dragonfly's magic shows us to see through life's illusions and find our true vision. 11. They are one of the oldest creatures of the Mother Gaia. They are inhabitants of two realms, water and air, making them special and adaptable creatures. If a dragonfly has shown up in your life, you may need some fresh air in regard to something emotional. 12.Dragonfly's played a pivotal part in a movie starring Kevin Costner in 2002. The movie dropped itself into alot of plot lines involving rebirth and eternal life beyond heaven, hence the two realms. 13. When we were in Hawaii, I was determined to get a Dragonfly henna tattoo, no matter how girly it looked. I fully believe that Dragonflies has mystical powers and are much more ancient then we think. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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