Post by Admin on Sept 15, 2023 1:58:29 GMT
Fireflies & Dragonflies
The past two days, I ventured back into the woods on my street and trail motorcycle.
Two days ago, I was deep in the forest. I sat down at the edge of the trail, where the forest below the trail was a steep incline downward. I watched and listened for animal activity for a long time. When one is in the woods, you really aren't that far from something in the animal kingdom. From memory, there are more insects in the world than any other animal, which I saw a lot of me close to me. The most interesting thing that happened was a Firefly landed on my shorts. I poked a it and it withdrew all it's legs and went into a dead opossum type stance/figuration. I concluded it was obviously an instinctive behavior, much like the Opossum that plays dead (by the way, I do think I've read that the Opossum in North America, where I'm at, is the only Marsupial here - and it's also Nocturnal). But back to the firefly. I expected it to eventually extend it's leg or wings and take off. I did see it partially extend its legs, but it didn't walk. It certainly didn't extend it's wings and take off. I sat and watched it simply stay in place a good 10 or 15 minutes. I eventually grew impatient and grabbed it and threw it up in the air - I could not tell if it spread it's wings and took off flying or simply landed back on the forest floor. Regardless, Fireflies are cool. I have fond memories catching them and putting them in a jar. I've heard stories of children eating them and sticking out their tongue, where their tongue would glow like something that glows in the dark - but I've never seen a child do this.
Now to Dragonflies. I've posted before that many animals will hang out at the edge of an ecosystem, as that's where the most food is at. I believe, from memory, that where the Ocean meets the beach, it's called the Intertidal Zone. Many creatures hang out there to find their food - like Crabs. My Black Cat, when I take it out, will move slowly around the edge of our fenced in back yard. While at the lake on several occasions, I've observed creatures like water bugs that hang out at the edge, where the lake water meets land. However, Dragonflies, I've observed are an exception. On several occasions, on several places on our local lake, I have observed Dragonflies simply flying out into the middle of the lake. They often dip down and touch the water while in flight. I don't know if they're simply taking a quick drink or being a predator and snatching a snack (of another smaller species). Regardless, Dragonflies, like Fireflies, have always intrigued me. They simply look like an alien from outer space to me - so fascinating!
Michael Piziak
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