A world of damselflies

 

"David Attenborough´s Dragons and Damsels" is a wittily titled documentary about dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera) somewhere in the UK. And yes, the odonate extravaganza is narrated by the apparently ever-young David Attenborough. 

Dragonfly-like insects have been around for a staggering 330 million years! This production shows a wide variety of dragonfly and damselfly species, mostly the latter, come to think of it. If you are a budding zygopterist, this may rock your little world. Damselfly species shown include the Common Blue, the Banded Demoiselle, the Willow Emerald, the Azure Damselfly, the Common Red Eye, and perhaps some others I missed. Dragonflies shown include the "Emperor" and the Common Darter. 

Odonates turn out to be surprisingly highly evolved insects, with complex behaviors surrounding territorial defense, mating and signaling. Their flying capabilities are so extraordinary that human engineers who built a "dragonfly robot" had major problems mimicking the original insect! The documentary shows how Emperor dragonflies laying their eggs inside Common Blue territory are mobbed by swarms of the smaller damselflies. It´s interesting to note that the underwater nymphs of the damselflies are hunted and eaten by the Emperor nymphs, but it´s difficult to believe that the damselflies somehow *know* this. Other natural enemies of the damsels include fish, spiders and "pond skaters" (a bizarre "true bug" that can walk on water). Climate change rears its head with the Willow Emerald, a south European species which has began to spread in Britain, catching the attention of scientists and odonate aficionados alike. The Willow Emerald lays its eggs inside the bark of trees (rather than in the water) and is believed to have colonized the UK due to changes in weather patterns. 

"Dragons and Damsels" ends with winter coming to the anonymous lake, killing off all remaining specimens of Odonata...except the nymphs, which survive deep under the lake surface, only to re-emerge as adults in the spring. As they (perhaps) have done for 330 million years.