This species of dragonfly is called the 'Wandering Glider' or 'Globe Skimmer' (Pantala flavescens). It's one of the most adaptable insects- once the dragonflies lay their eggs in the pools that the monsoon creates, within 72 days, the larvae transform into dragonflies. Then, these collect in huge swarms sometimes with other species of dragonflies. Apparently, the emergence of these coincides with the Onam festival and their local name in Kerala is Onathumbikal.
The dragonfly is also one of the most daring, undertaking long sea voyages and migrating to some of the most inhospitable places to find a suitable place to breed. This ability has allowed it to thrive all over the world. It has been known to fly fearlessly even in heavy rains, giving it the name of 'Typhoon Dragonfly'.
Their transparent wings and slender bodies would've never given a clue about such resilience! I always thought of dragonflies as rather delicate insects, catching some microscopic prey on the wing. Now, I think of them with some new found respect- there aren't too many creatures that small who can navigate tropical storms with ease!
Some more info is available here:
Onathumbikal
Globetrotter Dragonfly
12 comments:
wow never knew or thought so much about dragonflies, though i have been noticing them a lot through my window these days
you seem to know your turf pretty well, thats kewl
awesome! i never thought all this could be spotted inside iiit campus.
gr8 pics ...
i rmr i worte one post on creatures at IIIT
but my cell cam couldn't do justice with pics...
do u have better pictures of that green chameleon ??
thanks all for the comments
@shrikant: well, most of the info is available on net these days :) the hard part is watching them, capturing on camera and identification etc.
@bharat: there's lot more! and I keep finding new stuff..All the more reason to preserve whatever greenery is left
@@nks: yes, I do have some chameleon pictures. you can check them out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bardosaurus/2849896109/
there are 4-5 of them.
thanks for the pics ...
unfortunately it can be the one i clicked ...
but,
good to see a new chameleon in town.
Awesome. I really, really admired your works. Even I'm a nature lover, but my love never got beyond running up and down hill slopes. Now you suddenly make we wish I had a camera!
Will be waiting for some more of your works.
I regret the semi-anonymity of the the above comment. Google somehow refuses to change my blogger name. My name's Aniket, and I have a blog here http://simplayni.wordpress.com
I also co-ordinate the IIIT Magazine. We're trying to bring the mag to life and we have a meeting tomorrow. I think you can contribute to the mag significantly. I wonder if you could attend the Mag Club meeting on friday at 4:30.
Exact venue I'll mail later. Hope to see you there. I'm sorry for this long comment, but couldn't trace your students ID.
Aniket.
BTW, I forgot. You can reach me at aniketsharma@students if you wanna.
great .. I never thought all these could be seen in IIIT ... good collection
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