|
Home > Archive > Austin Gardening > October 2007 > Monster dragonfly
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
|
|
|
| Yesterday morning I was divebombed by the biggest dragonfly I've ever
seen: The body was longer than my hand and bottle-green, and the
wingspan was a good 12". I've had thumb-sized red dragonflies around
the yard all summer but this monster was something else altogether.
Any idea where such a huge dragonfly may have come from? I'm a good 6
miles north of the river, though there are a couple of borrow ponds
(under 183/Mopac) not terribly far away.
| |
| Omelet 2007-10-03, 1:25 pm |
| In article <4703a9ba$0$9610$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
Wooly <nobody@nunya> wrote:
> Yesterday morning I was divebombed by the biggest dragonfly I've ever
> seen: The body was longer than my hand and bottle-green, and the
> wingspan was a good 12". I've had thumb-sized red dragonflies around
> the yard all summer but this monster was something else altogether.
>
> Any idea where such a huge dragonfly may have come from? I'm a good 6
> miles north of the river, though there are a couple of borrow ponds
> (under 183/Mopac) not terribly far away.
Too bad you could not get a pic!
Sounds like a mutant. ;-D
I've never seen one that big, not even in swampy areas.
--
Peace, Om
Remove _ to validate e-mails.
"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein
| |
|
| Omelet wrote:
> In article <4703a9ba$0$9610$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
> Wooly <nobody@nunya> wrote:
>
>
> Too bad you could not get a pic!
>
> Sounds like a mutant. ;-D
>
> I've never seen one that big, not even in swampy areas.
Photo hell, I wish I had been able to capture it - not that I have a jar
large enough for a bug of that size.
| |
| Sqwertz 2007-10-03, 5:25 pm |
| On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:30:22 -0500, Wooly wrote:
> Photo hell, I wish I had been able to capture it - not that I have a jar
> large enough for a bug of that size.
Just reach out and grab it, Ofelia.
-sw
| |
| Omelet 2007-10-03, 5:25 pm |
| In article <4703d1a9$0$18953$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
Wooly <nobody@nunya> wrote:
> Omelet wrote:
>
>
> Photo hell, I wish I had been able to capture it - not that I have a jar
> large enough for a bug of that size.
<lol>!!!
Fish tank!
--
Peace, Om
Remove _ to validate e-mails.
"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein
| |
| lkelli@webtv.net 2007-10-03, 8:25 pm |
| | |
|
|
"Wooly" <nobody@nunya> wrote in message
news:4703a9ba$0$9610$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> Yesterday morning I was divebombed by the biggest dragonfly I've
> ever seen: The body was longer than my hand and bottle-green, and
> the wingspan was a good 12". I've had thumb-sized red dragonflies
> around the yard all summer but this monster was something else
> altogether.
>
<snip>
As a kid (back in the 1940 - 50's, these were known as "Snake
Doctors".
They were found all over, not necessarily by water and were much
more abundant than they are now. (probably going fast like the
horn-toads).
Bob-tx
| |
| Elliot Richmond 2007-10-04, 5:25 pm |
| On Thu, 4 Oct 2007 04:38:49 -0600, "Bob" <bobwhite@suddenlink.net>
wrote:
>
>"Wooly" <nobody@nunya> wrote in message
>news:4703a9ba$0$9610$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
><snip>
>
>As a kid (back in the 1940 - 50's, these were known as "Snake
>Doctors".
This is the largest dragonfly found in central Texas
Giant Darner: Anax walsinghami
http://www.odonatacentral.org/index...on.get/id/45024
The Giant Darner is not as large as you described, but the colors are
close. Females are mostly green all over..
Is it possible that you overestimated the size a bit? These are very
large insects.and could be described as being as big as your hand.
While harmless, they are scary.
Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher
Freelance science writer
| |
|
| Elliot Richmond wrote:
> This is the largest dragonfly found in central Texas
>
> Giant Darner: Anax walsinghami
>
> http://www.odonatacentral.org/index...on.get/id/45024
>
> The Giant Darner is not as large as you described, but the colors are
> close. Females are mostly green all over..
The dragonfly I saw was VERY green, nearly the shade I associate with
green bottle flies. The only other color I noted was a very dark brown,
almost black, along the abdomen. I just had a look at the Giant Darner
pix on that website, they're mostly blue/brown checked - not even close
to the color(s) of the dragonfly I saw.
>
> Is it possible that you overestimated the size a bit?
Perhaps I overestimated the wingspan but not the length of the body.
After it startled me by dropping onto my head from the eaves it rested
in the grass near my feet for nearly a minute. I tried to sneak under
it (I have a 9yo who enjoys looking at Nature Under Glass). I missed
catching it's abdomen by perhaps an inch before it came to it's senses
and darted off. My hand is spot-on 7" from the tip of my longest finger
to the crease at the base of my palm and this bug was a good inch longer
than that.
Probably better that it got away and lived to breed another day.
| |
| cinquefoil_5@yahoo.com 2007-10-05, 1:25 pm |
| Good morning,
Growing up in France as a little girl I used to go to summer camp
every year. In the French countryside I remember seeing such dragon
flies.
They never harmed us and I also thought they were way kewl.
I always thought the Texas dragonflies a bit undersized because of
that...hehehehehehe.
Anita
| |
| Joe Doe 2007-10-10, 1:25 pm |
| In article <4703a9ba$0$9610$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
Wooly <nobody@nunya> wrote:
> Yesterday morning I was divebombed by the biggest dragonfly I've ever
> seen: The body was longer than my hand and bottle-green, and the
> wingspan was a good 12". I've had thumb-sized red dragonflies around
> the yard all summer but this monster was something else altogether.
>
> Any idea where such a huge dragonfly may have come from? I'm a good 6
> miles north of the river, though there are a couple of borrow ponds
> (under 183/Mopac) not terribly far away.
See the Washington Post for a clue 
Dragonfly or Insect Spy? Scientists at Work on Robobugs.
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 9, 2007; Page A03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...10/08/AR2007100
801434.html?nav=hcmodule
Roland
|
|
|
|
|