Keeping their cool!

I learned something new today!  As I was out and about the hillside just a little after noon, I noticed a good many dragonflies were darting around the Frog Pond.  There is nothing unusual about this as the pond was originally created as a place for dragonflies to lay their eggs.  They accepted the small pond and hover about it constantly.  I watched the jewel-toned insects as they darted from stalk to stalk.

As I stood watching, I noticed that some of the dragonflies were "hanging" and some were "sitting".  Hmmm, I pondered this for a bit.  The ones that were hanging just dangled from the limb with their bodies pointed toward  the ground.  Ok, so there was nothing to spectacular about their method of resting but it was the blue ones that confused me.  They would fly to a twig, perch and then raise their abdomen high in the air.  It seemed as if they could not get it high enough to suit themselves!  Why in the world would they do this?  It was not just one..it was all of the blue ones around the pond.  Hmmm..this needed investigating!

After reading up a good bit on dragonflies in general, I came across the answer to my question.  It seems that certain dragonflies will perch and raise their abdomens as a cooling method.  The raised rear reduces the body exposure to the sun.  The hotter the day..the higher the rear!  Well, that makes sense!  It was terribly hot outside today!   A niece said that her car thermometer read 106 degrees!  Wow!  No wonder those dragonflies were poking their rears in the air!  What I found strange was that the hanging dragonflies were using that method to stay cool!  Their dangling bodies reduced their exposure to the sun as well.

I am always amazed at the wildlife here on the Bayou.  Each critter has its own unique way of dealing with the environment.  Sometimes I think that we all could learn so much by just observing the critters around us.  Still somehow, I do not see me acting like these dragonflies just to keep cool! It does seem a bit awkward!  I am just fine sitting in my wicker chair under the oak tree with a glass of iced ginger tea!