observations of my terminal influence

Thanks for stopping by.  A short story if I might relate it to you.  My half twin brother Andrew and I went out for a walk the other day to have a dfly catching battle.  This battle was to determine who would be the first to catch a dragonfly by hand.  Well, I will admit right now that I got beat, and by default Andrew won, since he was the only other person playing.  I'm not really ashamed.

Before he won though, I spotted a baskettail perching in front of me, less than a foot above my head.  This should've been an easy catch via a quick right-handed sideswipe.  Instead, I blumped up, making contact with the dragonfly but not securing a grasp.  The dragonfly was sent flying by my extremely masculine attempt to capture it.  Unfortunately for both of us, a male Anax junius (green darner) was watching us from a distance with binoculars, carefully taking in all of this data, with around 80% of his brain power devoted to visual processing  (according to the independent research firm http://www.dragonfly-site.com/meaning-symbolize.html).  This green darner, capitalizing on others' unfortunes, proceeded to swoop down and overpower the baskettail, taking it in its mouth.  What it did with the baskettail in its mouth is anybody's guess but I would say he probably ate it, as dragonflies are known to need food to survive (something humans and dragonflies have in common).  They are also cannibalistic.  I repeatedly tried to chase down the offending darner and put him to justice for killing a dragonfly.  The penalty would have been immortality by death:  imprisonment for life and post-life in the Colleyville Dragonfly Museum.

In the end, I did not acquire either the green darner or the baskettail.  Regardless of whether or not I caught the dragonfly, the interesting sequence of events was noteworthy, probably moreso than if I had actually captured the baskettail.  It reminded me a time I was taking photos of a Perithemis tenera (eastern amberwing) and I spooked him when I moved to get closer.  Immediately after the amberwing took off, an Erythemis simplicicollis (eastern pondhawk) darted in and mercilessly tore apart the amberwing.  I have pictures of that incident which I will post later.  These observations help me to remember to appreciate little things that can change any situation, even if it isn't obvious at first.  Anything can happen.  Imagine if I had not kept my eyes on the baskettail I tried to catch or the amberwing I tried to photograph--I never would've known the outcome.  Of course, it is impossible to concentrate on everything at once, but it is still fun to think about.

Anyway, I hope you learned something from this blog entry.  There are a few facts in here that you might be able to pick out and add to your arsenal of insect trivia...in case you ever need some conversation starters.  If you already knew those tidbits or you just don't care, I'm truly sorry.