Once Upon a Lily Pond

A tale of dragonfly summer romance . . .

It must be high summer because the dragonflies are in top form at the Arboretum's lily pond. I don't see more than an occasional small damselfly in the early mornings when I usually visit. However, on visits later in the day when it is sunny and warm, I often see dragons.

On this day, I was excited to see several different sizes of dragonflies at the lily pond. Several smaller dragonflies were buzzing about, when these two huge dragons arrived and took over the pond. And they were apparently in the mood for summer romance.

They were very, very large. And they were attached. The dragon in front had a large head and green upper body, but a blue tail. The dragon in back, which I presumed to be the female, also had a large head and green upper body, but a greenish-brown tail.

The dragons alternated between flying around in the air above the lily pond and perching at various places in the pond itself: atop a water plant, atop a brightly colored lily, on a lily pad, then - somewhat awkwardly, like a bicycle kinda sorta built for two, but not really - back into the air.

Visitors to the lily pond seemed to be a combination of delighted and almost afraid of them. I reassured a little girl who was there with her dad that no, the dragonflies would not try to bite or sting her. And then we looked closer at the bugs, fascinated by them, while her dad took some photos with his cell phone.

What's funniest, though, is the look on parents' faces when they have little kids with them and they suddenly realize that the dragonflies are engaged in romantic endeavors."Oh look!" says Dad, "A dragonfly!" And then a closer look, and then, "Oh, or is that TWO?" Followed by: *embarrassed silence*

This is how it is, though, if you go to wild places, even small wild places in town: you might see the occasional wild thing going on. So let the visitor beware.

I stayed a little while to watch, and then saw that the two dragonflies had separated, finally. The blue-tailed male flew around and around above the lily pond guarding the female, while she sat with her tail in the water laying eggs. And so the circle of life goes round and round . . . (Apparently some species' summer romances have more immediate consequences than others.)

As I watched the male flying around above the female, it was hard not to attribute human feelings and emotions to them. Was he feeling wistful? Wishing they were back in tandem again? Was he feeling pleased and proud of himself for having had a romance with the prettiest, largest female in the pond? And what about the female? What did she think of the whole affair?

I love to watch insects but I admit that in the end, I do not know what they think. I do not wish to overly humanize a relationship between bugs, even very big, very pretty bugs. But the song that came to mind as I watched the male dragon flying around keeping watch over his lady was this one: REO Speedwagon, Keep on Lovin' You.

And so here's to summer love, from a hopeless (or more likely, hopeful) romantic . . .

P.S. Here are a few bonus resources for those who may wish to learn more about dragonflies.
14 Fun Facts About Dragonflies (Smithsonian)
10 Surprisingly Brutal Facts About Dragonflies (listverse)
10 Fascinating Facts About Dragonflies (about.com)
Dragonfly Life Cycle and Metamorphosis (Citizen Scientists League)