Post by shade on Sept 27, 2005 19:21:56 GMT -5
I love dragonflies and found this very interesting. Ill add it here for yall.
Dragonflies, or damselflies, were connected to Freya the Norse goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Freya was famous for her beauty and her knowledge as a magician. It was she who taught Odin the shamanic practices known as seidr which were still practiced during Christian times. The paired bodies of mating dragonflies form the shape of a heart, perhaps being the source for that modern symbol of love. In ancient lore, the dragonfly represents transformation, adaptation and insight.
Site 2 - European Dragonfly Folklore - In most cultures dragonflies have been objects of superstition. European folklore is no exception. Many old myths have been lost during the history, but fragments of these old myths are still living in old local names for dragonflies. Only in Germany dragonflies have had over 150 different names. Some of these are Teufelsnadel ("Devil's needle"), Wasserhexe ("Water witch"), Hollenross ("Goddess' horse"), Teufelspferd ("Devil's horse") and Schlangentöter ("Snake killer"). Also the name Snake Doctor has been used in Germany. In England the name Devil's darning needle and Horse stinger have been used. In Denmark the dragonfly have got such different names as Fandens ridehest ("Devil's riding horse") and Guldsmed ("Goldsmith"). Different names of dragonflies referring to them as the devils tools have also occurred in many other European cultures, some examples are the Spanish Caballito del Diablo ("Devil's horse") and the French l'aiguille du diable ("Devil's needle").
The Swedish name for dragonfly is trollslända, which means "hobgoblin fly" in English. Long time ago people in Sweden believed that hobgoblins, elves, brownies and such creatures lived in our great woods. In that folklore the dragonflies was considered to be the hobgoblins twisting tools. During the history the dragonflies even have been connected with love and female, the names damselfly (England), Demoiselle (France) and Jungfer (Germany) are some examples of those nice associations.
An old Swedish name for dragonfly is Blindsticka ("Blind stinger"), this name comes from the opinion that a dragonfly could pick out your eyes. Other people thought that the dragonfly could sew together your eyelids. The same name appears as well in Norway ("Öyenstikker") as in Germany ("Augenstecher").
In certain parts of Norway, the dragonfly is also known as "oslash;rsnildra". The exact meaning of this word is unknown to me but the part "oslash", does obviously refer to the Norwegian word for "ear", as people (and especially children) often thought that the dragonfly would poke holes in their ear-drums if it got inside their ears!
An other old Swedish name is Skams besman ("Devil's steelyard"), this name probably depends on the dragonfly's body shape that, with some imagination looks like the weighting tool. In the folklore this was interpreted as that the Devil used the dragonfly to weight the people's souls. When a dragonfly flew around your head, your soul was weighted and you should expect seriously injury as punishment. It is very interesting that, despite of those ideas that the dragonfly should be the Devil's tool, the dragonfly have been a holy animal in Scandinavia. In the Æsir cult the dragonfly was thought to be the love goddess Freya's symbol.
Some of the Latin names of dragonfly families have interesting meanings: The name Libellula might have been derived from the word libella ("booklet") referring to the resting dragonfly, which wings, with some imagination, looks quite like the pages of an open book. The name Odonata was created by Fabricius in 1793 as name for the whole dragonfly order, means "toothed".
In some countries, e.g. Indonesia, many African and South American countries both the adult and larva dragonflies are caught to be eaten fried or in soup. In China and Japan the dragonflies has been treated as holy animals, and believed to have medical qualities. Even today the dragonfly Sympetrum frequens is used as fever reducing drug.
All over the world dragonflies have been used in different forms of art, stamps and more.
Dragonflies from Fusion Anomaly...
The Dragonfly symbolizes Illusion.
Dragonfly is the power of light. The dragonfly inhabits two realms: air and water and the influence of both these elements will be felt by Dragonfly people. They will be emotional and passionate during their early years (the influence of water) and more balanced with greater mental clarity and control in as they mature (the influence of air).
dragonfly (dr?g?en-fl?) noun
plural - dragonflies
Any of various large insects of the order Odonata or suborder Anisoptera, having a long slender body and two pairs of narrow, net-veined wings that are usually held outstretched while the insect is at rest. Also called darning needle, devil's darning needle, ear sewer, mosquito hawk, skeeter hawk, snake doctor, snake feeder, spindle.
Regional Note: Regional terms for the dragonfly are numerous, providing good evidence for dialect boundaries in the United States. The greatest variety of terms is to be found in the South, where the most widespread term is snake doctor (a name based on a folk belief that dragonflies take care of snakes). The Midland equivalent is snake feeder. Speakers from the Lower South, on the other hand, are more likely to refer to the same insect as a mosquito hawk or, in the South Atlantic states, a skeeter hawk. The imagery outside the South alludes more to the insect's shape than to its behavior or diet: Upper Northern speakers call it a darning needle or a devil's darning needle; those in Coastal New Jersey, a spindle; and Northern Californians, an ear sewer.
Dragonfly
Dragonfly, common name for any member of an order of predaceous aquatic insects with an elongate body, agile flight, and two pairs of membranous wings. The order is divided into two suborders: the dragonflies and the damselflies. About 5900 species are known; members are found in all temperate and tropical regions of the world.
The adult head consists largely of the compound eyes; the antennae are short and hair like. Mouthparts are adapted for biting and for scooping prey from the air. The legs are located far forward on the body and are used mainly to grasp a resting spot such as a twig. Most temperate-zone species of dragonflies have wingspreads of 5 to 8 cm (2.0 to 3.1 in), but wingspreads of tropical species may reach 20 cm (7.9 in).
Male dragonflies are known for their territorial behavior. An individual will stake out an area that he continuously patrols as he awaits a passing female. He will chase other males from the area. Dragonflies and damselflies are important in the food webs of freshwater streams and lakes. The immature forms live in freshwater as predators, normally feeding on other invertebrates, while adults consume large quantities of mosquitoes and other small flying insects.
Scientific classification: Dragonflies and damselflies together make up the order Odonata. Dragonflies make up the suborder Anisoptera, damselflies make up the suborder Zygoptera.
A dragonfly's wings are the key to its flying ability. If you look closely, you will see that a dragonfly has two wings on each side of its body--a long front wing and a slightly shorter back wing. During flight, small but powerful "tornados" of air move along each of the dragonfly's front wings. These tiny tornadoes help the dragonfly maintain its lift. A dragonfly's back wings help keep the "tornadoes" from breaking up.
Why are they called dragonflies? The name comes from their fierce jaws, which they use to catch flies (among other winged insects).
Where do dragonflies come from? The dragonfly begins its life as an egg. Adult female dragonflies lay their eggs in water. After about two weeks, the eggs hatch and an immature dragonfly, or nymph, emerges. The nymphs are not pretty like the adults. They have tiny wings and a large lower lip, which they use to catch their prey (often mosquito larvae). Dragonfly nymphs live in the water. As they grow, they molt. Nymphs of some species may take as long as three years to mature.
When the dragonfly nymph reaches maturity, it crawls out of the water onto a plant stem. Then its skin begins to split. First the head, then the thorax, then the legs, and then the wings of an adult dragonfly emerge. Soon the newly emerged dragonfly is able to fly. The process takes about two hours. It takes about two days before the adult dragonfly's beautiful colors are fully developed. Adult dragonflies live only a few months.
How long have dragonflies been around? Dragonflies are ancient insects. They were around before the dinosaurs. Ancient dragonflies may have been considerably larger than those we see today. A fossilized impression of a dragonfly wing, found in a coal mine in England, is the oldest known dragonfly specimen. This dragonfly lived 300 million years ago and had a wingspan of eight inches. The largest known dragonfly had a wingspan of 24 inches (two feet). Today, the largest dragonfly is found in South America and has a wingspan of slightly over seven inches. Other than being smaller, modern-day dragonflies do not look very different from their ancestors.
Are dragonflies like other insects? Dragonflies and damselflies belong to an order of insects all their own, called Odonata. Although the two are similar, damselflies are smaller than dragonflies. In addition, damselflies can fold their wings over their backs when they are at rest. Dragonflies can't fold their wings, so they rest with their wings held straight out.
Are dragonflies beneficial to humans? Yes. In fact, dragonflies are sometimes called "mosquito hawk" because they catch and eat so many mosquitoes. Always on the hunt, dragonflies consume gnats, flies, and mosquitoes--all of which humans consider pests.
Why are dragonflies such good hunters? Dragonflies' ability to maneuver makes them able to out-fly their prey. But dragonflies also have the advantage of excellent eyesight. If you've ever watched dragonflies, no doubt you have noticed their huge eyes. Each of the two large eyes is made up of thousands of six-sided units. Together, these smaller eyes enable a dragonfly to detect even the slightest movement. To test this, try sneaking up and catching a dragonfly. You usually come up empty-handed.
Dragonflies, or damselflies, were connected to Freya the Norse goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Freya was famous for her beauty and her knowledge as a magician. It was she who taught Odin the shamanic practices known as seidr which were still practiced during Christian times. The paired bodies of mating dragonflies form the shape of a heart, perhaps being the source for that modern symbol of love. In ancient lore, the dragonfly represents transformation, adaptation and insight.
Site 2 - European Dragonfly Folklore - In most cultures dragonflies have been objects of superstition. European folklore is no exception. Many old myths have been lost during the history, but fragments of these old myths are still living in old local names for dragonflies. Only in Germany dragonflies have had over 150 different names. Some of these are Teufelsnadel ("Devil's needle"), Wasserhexe ("Water witch"), Hollenross ("Goddess' horse"), Teufelspferd ("Devil's horse") and Schlangentöter ("Snake killer"). Also the name Snake Doctor has been used in Germany. In England the name Devil's darning needle and Horse stinger have been used. In Denmark the dragonfly have got such different names as Fandens ridehest ("Devil's riding horse") and Guldsmed ("Goldsmith"). Different names of dragonflies referring to them as the devils tools have also occurred in many other European cultures, some examples are the Spanish Caballito del Diablo ("Devil's horse") and the French l'aiguille du diable ("Devil's needle").
The Swedish name for dragonfly is trollslända, which means "hobgoblin fly" in English. Long time ago people in Sweden believed that hobgoblins, elves, brownies and such creatures lived in our great woods. In that folklore the dragonflies was considered to be the hobgoblins twisting tools. During the history the dragonflies even have been connected with love and female, the names damselfly (England), Demoiselle (France) and Jungfer (Germany) are some examples of those nice associations.
An old Swedish name for dragonfly is Blindsticka ("Blind stinger"), this name comes from the opinion that a dragonfly could pick out your eyes. Other people thought that the dragonfly could sew together your eyelids. The same name appears as well in Norway ("Öyenstikker") as in Germany ("Augenstecher").
In certain parts of Norway, the dragonfly is also known as "oslash;rsnildra". The exact meaning of this word is unknown to me but the part "oslash", does obviously refer to the Norwegian word for "ear", as people (and especially children) often thought that the dragonfly would poke holes in their ear-drums if it got inside their ears!
An other old Swedish name is Skams besman ("Devil's steelyard"), this name probably depends on the dragonfly's body shape that, with some imagination looks like the weighting tool. In the folklore this was interpreted as that the Devil used the dragonfly to weight the people's souls. When a dragonfly flew around your head, your soul was weighted and you should expect seriously injury as punishment. It is very interesting that, despite of those ideas that the dragonfly should be the Devil's tool, the dragonfly have been a holy animal in Scandinavia. In the Æsir cult the dragonfly was thought to be the love goddess Freya's symbol.
Some of the Latin names of dragonfly families have interesting meanings: The name Libellula might have been derived from the word libella ("booklet") referring to the resting dragonfly, which wings, with some imagination, looks quite like the pages of an open book. The name Odonata was created by Fabricius in 1793 as name for the whole dragonfly order, means "toothed".
In some countries, e.g. Indonesia, many African and South American countries both the adult and larva dragonflies are caught to be eaten fried or in soup. In China and Japan the dragonflies has been treated as holy animals, and believed to have medical qualities. Even today the dragonfly Sympetrum frequens is used as fever reducing drug.
All over the world dragonflies have been used in different forms of art, stamps and more.
Dragonflies from Fusion Anomaly...
The Dragonfly symbolizes Illusion.
Dragonfly is the power of light. The dragonfly inhabits two realms: air and water and the influence of both these elements will be felt by Dragonfly people. They will be emotional and passionate during their early years (the influence of water) and more balanced with greater mental clarity and control in as they mature (the influence of air).
dragonfly (dr?g?en-fl?) noun
plural - dragonflies
Any of various large insects of the order Odonata or suborder Anisoptera, having a long slender body and two pairs of narrow, net-veined wings that are usually held outstretched while the insect is at rest. Also called darning needle, devil's darning needle, ear sewer, mosquito hawk, skeeter hawk, snake doctor, snake feeder, spindle.
Regional Note: Regional terms for the dragonfly are numerous, providing good evidence for dialect boundaries in the United States. The greatest variety of terms is to be found in the South, where the most widespread term is snake doctor (a name based on a folk belief that dragonflies take care of snakes). The Midland equivalent is snake feeder. Speakers from the Lower South, on the other hand, are more likely to refer to the same insect as a mosquito hawk or, in the South Atlantic states, a skeeter hawk. The imagery outside the South alludes more to the insect's shape than to its behavior or diet: Upper Northern speakers call it a darning needle or a devil's darning needle; those in Coastal New Jersey, a spindle; and Northern Californians, an ear sewer.
Dragonfly
Dragonfly, common name for any member of an order of predaceous aquatic insects with an elongate body, agile flight, and two pairs of membranous wings. The order is divided into two suborders: the dragonflies and the damselflies. About 5900 species are known; members are found in all temperate and tropical regions of the world.
The adult head consists largely of the compound eyes; the antennae are short and hair like. Mouthparts are adapted for biting and for scooping prey from the air. The legs are located far forward on the body and are used mainly to grasp a resting spot such as a twig. Most temperate-zone species of dragonflies have wingspreads of 5 to 8 cm (2.0 to 3.1 in), but wingspreads of tropical species may reach 20 cm (7.9 in).
Male dragonflies are known for their territorial behavior. An individual will stake out an area that he continuously patrols as he awaits a passing female. He will chase other males from the area. Dragonflies and damselflies are important in the food webs of freshwater streams and lakes. The immature forms live in freshwater as predators, normally feeding on other invertebrates, while adults consume large quantities of mosquitoes and other small flying insects.
Scientific classification: Dragonflies and damselflies together make up the order Odonata. Dragonflies make up the suborder Anisoptera, damselflies make up the suborder Zygoptera.
A dragonfly's wings are the key to its flying ability. If you look closely, you will see that a dragonfly has two wings on each side of its body--a long front wing and a slightly shorter back wing. During flight, small but powerful "tornados" of air move along each of the dragonfly's front wings. These tiny tornadoes help the dragonfly maintain its lift. A dragonfly's back wings help keep the "tornadoes" from breaking up.
Why are they called dragonflies? The name comes from their fierce jaws, which they use to catch flies (among other winged insects).
Where do dragonflies come from? The dragonfly begins its life as an egg. Adult female dragonflies lay their eggs in water. After about two weeks, the eggs hatch and an immature dragonfly, or nymph, emerges. The nymphs are not pretty like the adults. They have tiny wings and a large lower lip, which they use to catch their prey (often mosquito larvae). Dragonfly nymphs live in the water. As they grow, they molt. Nymphs of some species may take as long as three years to mature.
When the dragonfly nymph reaches maturity, it crawls out of the water onto a plant stem. Then its skin begins to split. First the head, then the thorax, then the legs, and then the wings of an adult dragonfly emerge. Soon the newly emerged dragonfly is able to fly. The process takes about two hours. It takes about two days before the adult dragonfly's beautiful colors are fully developed. Adult dragonflies live only a few months.
How long have dragonflies been around? Dragonflies are ancient insects. They were around before the dinosaurs. Ancient dragonflies may have been considerably larger than those we see today. A fossilized impression of a dragonfly wing, found in a coal mine in England, is the oldest known dragonfly specimen. This dragonfly lived 300 million years ago and had a wingspan of eight inches. The largest known dragonfly had a wingspan of 24 inches (two feet). Today, the largest dragonfly is found in South America and has a wingspan of slightly over seven inches. Other than being smaller, modern-day dragonflies do not look very different from their ancestors.
Are dragonflies like other insects? Dragonflies and damselflies belong to an order of insects all their own, called Odonata. Although the two are similar, damselflies are smaller than dragonflies. In addition, damselflies can fold their wings over their backs when they are at rest. Dragonflies can't fold their wings, so they rest with their wings held straight out.
Are dragonflies beneficial to humans? Yes. In fact, dragonflies are sometimes called "mosquito hawk" because they catch and eat so many mosquitoes. Always on the hunt, dragonflies consume gnats, flies, and mosquitoes--all of which humans consider pests.
Why are dragonflies such good hunters? Dragonflies' ability to maneuver makes them able to out-fly their prey. But dragonflies also have the advantage of excellent eyesight. If you've ever watched dragonflies, no doubt you have noticed their huge eyes. Each of the two large eyes is made up of thousands of six-sided units. Together, these smaller eyes enable a dragonfly to detect even the slightest movement. To test this, try sneaking up and catching a dragonfly. You usually come up empty-handed.