When I lived in the FL everglades and would ride my bike at almost dusk I would be surrounded by dragonflies hunting for the mosquitoes I was attracting -- it was somewhat magical, I thought of it as (not swimming with the dolphins but) riding with the dragonflies 🌴

My yard suffers from mosquitoes from April through June. Then, for some reason, a host of dragonflies descends and the annual Great Mosquito Massacre occurs. Love me some dragonflies!

That footage of the frog jumping and missing because the dragonfly quickly took off was amazing.

30 MPH is flat out amazing for such a small animal. Dr Ware's nerdish enthusiasm is cool.

I have a little artificial dragonfly that I pin to my hat, and it seems to keep the mosquitoes and deerflies away.

Not only are they good flyers, dragonflies are intelligent too. Now they won't be winning any maths contests and they're not interested in solving puzzles, but they really do make the best possible use of their tiny brains and huge eyes. They have fantastic 3D spatial awareness and can accurately estimate speeds and trajectories of all things around them. They don't just chase after prey, they intercept them in flight.

I just have a memory of my dad pulling the bark off a tree in our yard when I was like 4. He called me out there specifically to see this. It was a big piece of bark. When he did, out flew tons of Dragonflies. I was both horrified and it was like magic. Couldn't process what should be my reaction. I decided that since they didn't harm me, they were the most beautiful and noble with head movements like a horse when you talk to one on a clothes line. It's like they listen and nod and tilt their head like they understand. Also, hummingbirds. My two favorite yard guests of honor.

She is delightful! I already love dragon flies but she made this an A+ production, she's so entertaining and knowledgeable, warm and funny, all at the same time. Great Job!

I love listening to scientists like this who are knowledgeable, passionate, and thoughtful. They usually have an optimistic view of the world and want to use their specific field of study to help the world at large.

Dr Ware is a fantastic communicator

We love all insects, but we're pretty partial to Team Odonata. Time machine goal: seeing Meganeura in flight!

They're so fascinating! Our camera crew spent a whole summer in a lake, observing their behaviour and getting some astonishing close-ups; the footage is so amazing!

I love her enthusiasm for a creature many people aren't even aware of.

When my oldest daughter was younger, I told her a story I had heard as a child. Dragonflies turn into Fairies at night, and that during the day you could talk to them and they would remember you and seek you out at night as a Fairy 🧚‍♀️ . She would enjoy hours of talking to her dragonflies by the water sitting on hugh rocks in the sun. It was magical. With my Grand daughter I took it a step furthur, and together we built a beautiful Fairy garden underneath an old tree in my front yard, complete with Fairy houses, benches, and a tiny doghouse complete with a tiny dog. He magically comes to life at night with the Fairies, of course. Needless to say, we all love dragonflies. ❤

Even at the end of their life cycle, dragonflies are beneficial to the health of the ecosystem. While kayaking along the shore of the Great Slave Lake in Canada, I saw dragonflies in the thousands after they had reproduced at the end of their life cycle die and fall into the water. Several hundred ducks were paddling around eating them as they settled on the water. I imagine this is an important source of food for ducks in the fall before they start their long migration south.

Last summer I was eating lunch in my truck facing a small wet grassy ditch between the parking lot and the road. One dragonfly would fly low down the center of the ditch and scare up mosquitos while the others waited at the sides. When the mosquitos would fly up the others would swoop in and eat them. Then the process would repeat. It was so cool and obvious what they were doing.

I had no idea dragonflies were so good at flying! This video really helped me form a deeper appreciation for dragonflies :)

"Just smaller than a Crow" holy shit! Insect that large is incredible. Give those insects their due! They're incredible even today.

I have revived Dragon flies that were incapsulated in ice. The first time, I found one Griff Creek, North Lake Tahoe, I had a hunch, removed it from the ice and water, warmed it up and sure enough it flew away. the next time it was late fall, it had rained, filled an empty bowl with rain water and one got trapped and over night the water froze. So when I found him in the morning I removed the sheet of ice his wings were inside of and set it in the sun. You have to be carful, it's a slow process. It helps to blow your breath on them, that seems to really do the trick. Eventually he started to wiggle and move around, then took off. I have some photos and video if anyone is interested.

Ayumu Sasaki, grand prix motorcycle racer, has always featured dragonflies in the designs on his helmets. The artwork has varied, classical or stylised, the depictions of dragonflies on samurai helmets made me smile and think of this very talented young rider. I always thought the inspiration was the maneuverability of a racing motorcycle, but maybe it is in homage to those helmets of his ancestors.

With special audio guest, my favorite insect: CICADAS

I was told years ago that if a dragonfly would land on you it would bring you good luck.

a friend who passed away in 2021 at a far too young of an age held that dragonflies were part of the afterlife, loved ones returning to check on us, the first time that another friend and I were able to meet after her death a dragonfly laned on me as we sat at the outside table. Our family and friends all see dragonflies as Steff coming by to see us.

So well executed. great writers behind this.

Dragonflies are truly amazing insects and love having them around the yard when the mosquitos are prevalent. I wasn't aware that the Dragonflies lineage was one of the oldest until I recently watched the Netflix series 'Life on our Planet' narrated by Morgan Freeman. Now I am also aware of the different styles of Dragonflies wings. Many thanks.

I am so jealous of that dragonfly pin.

I love to photograph them with my macro lens. Year after year there are less dragonflies and damselflies as are other insects.

Dragonflies are one of the few insects I like! I'm glad to see they get their own video.

Indigenous people in the south west U.S. believe dragonflies are connected to water and are sacred. They are often depicted in the art- as a way of requesting more water. Most excellent presentation. Interesting, very informative, educational.

I love these guys! They started showing up after I made a pond from an above ground pool. They are excellent hunters of pests like Mosquitoes and Flies. They have a larval stage that needs water which is why they showed up in the pond.

I remember when I was a young child playing in the sandbox, which was in a fenced-in corner of the property beside the garage a Dragonfly hovered over the only way in or out for a good half hour, not sure what it was doing but I was terrified and will never forget that day XD

This documentary was a treat in every way. The chemistry between the two scientists was amazing.

Dragonflies made growing up in the Louisiana wetlands manageable. Used to sit on the porch and watch the winged dragons snatch horseflies and mosquitos we attracted out of the air.

Yes. More videos about insects. Drangon flies are my body guards✨

Holy crap. I knew dragonflies were cool ever since I was a kid. I didn't realize they were THIS C O O L !

There is something so beautifully comforting about seeing black folk be so happily engaged in nature in this way, they were beyond informational & engaging & I loved it 🪰💓🪰

Dragonflies are my favorite insects, too! I love that they're fierce and delicate at the same time, and their colors and wing patterns and flight fascinate me. I'm still learning to identify them (and I'll admit, the sexual dimorphism throws me sometimes.) There's a pond in the Adirondacks that I visit periodically during the summer where I can sit and watch them for hours. Depending on when I visit, I'll see entirely different sets of species. They're fearless, too-- they'll let me get *incredibly* close (within a couple of inches) to photograph them, sometimes even taking off and landing again immediately in the same spot at a more advantageous angle, as if they're posing for their close-up. My grandmother (who was from southern Germany) always used to say that it was good luck to have a dragonfly light on you.

Thank you for this topic! Please more on other insect topics. 🎉

Incredible video, content and presentation just top notch.

Dragon fly lore. My ‘fishing with a dragon fly’ experience. They are my favorite insects, beauty, design, agility and dare say intelligence? I fished a pond in Northern California consistently for many years. Teeming with flora, aquatic life and dragon flies, I came to observe, admire and become fascinated with these amazing creatures. I would fish from a very small, one man raft, nearly at water level, sitting down. I used an artificial lure, which requires successive, multiple casts and retrievals. After several casts and returns, I noticed a dragon fly following ( flying after) my cast lure to the point it hit the water, and then hovering there. Thinking this was a fluke, I repeated the cast, retrieval sequence several more times, it really was happening. Whats more the dragon fly would follow my lure’s retrieval back to me (the raft) and then, this is even more amazing, it would position (hover) itself above and behind me, at rod level, as I raised and drew back the rod to cast again. It seemed as if it was waiting for me to cast again, so we could start the whole cast, follow, retrieve, cast sequence again. I tested this occurrence more than a dozen times and each time it was the same. I was left with this over whelming wonderful feeling that I had somehow connected with? communicated with? nature, an insect no less, and we were actually playing a game together of cross species ‘go fetch’.

I live in a suburb of Kansas City, in a 3rd-floor apartment. Was happily surprised to see, one day, multiple dragonflies had flown past my balcony. I didn't notice until later - had been taking photos of thunderstorm clouds. Looking at the pics, there were a few dragonflies, flying past! I had no idea they ever flew so high above ground level.

I absolutely love dragonflies 💞 Thank you for this episode

I've always loved them. Magical creatures!

The OG fliers, literally

Sounds like dragonflies can be put in the same club as sharks and crocodiles; been around forever and highly successful.

8:46 That shot with the frog trying to eat the dragonfly was incredible

These two are awesome. @pbsterra, the video description deserves to have Rhema Uche-Dike's name in it with Dr Ware's

Odonata are also my favorites. This is a delightful video!!!

I love dragonfly since I was a kid I thought of them as mini helicopter ❤

When I was younger in areas of Florida we called them "Mosquito Hawks" and everyone understood to respect them. Somewhere over time after many people started moving to Florida the "Dragonfly" name replaced "Mosquito Hawk" and people became terrified of them. Now pretty much everyone has no clue what they are and are told they will be attacked or bitten by them, so people actively seek to kill them. I wish we could go back to calling them "Mosquito Hawks" if for no other reason than to protect these beautiful creatures.

Yesssssssssssssssss Dragonflies are so so so awesome

Always been one of my favourite creatures. A flawless predator with super abilities. We occasionally get massive swarms of them in Adelaide where I live. Never realised they actually did swarm until the first time I saw it. Amazing.

Good video! As someone who identifies macroinvertebrates, it's nice to put a face to one of the people responsible for our ever improving taxonomy, even if splitting Gomphus into a bunch of genera was a big pain in the butt for me.

I love watching dragonfly aerobatics.

Love me some excellent Dragonfly content, very well done ya'll

Cool!!!🌟🌟💯💯

I love dragonflies! This made me happy. A few years ago, I was looking for a book to learn more about dragonflies.Unfortunatey, I was unable to find one.

dragonflies are just so cool. Definitely my fav flying insect! I can stare at them for hours. what a fun video! i learned so much!

I love what I learned here 🙏🏾☺️

Omg I love this presenter I could learn all day

I heard that in the Indigenous Americans dragonflies were a symbol of hope. Dragonflies need water to breed, so if you saw a dragonfly it meant there was a water source nearby

Thanks for including views of our Tiffany "Dragfonly" Lamps at the end of this fascinating episode. While we are expert about Tiffany's lamps, we didn't know much about the dragonfly and we learned a lot. What extraordinary insects! Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a way that is entertaining and accessible.

Evinrude was my favorite Disney character when I was a kid. Excellent program on the best insect ever!

Dragonflies are a good omen. They ward off minor annoyances to help you focus on your quest.

Fun fact: If you are the chill type you can hold up a finger and get a dragonfly with enough trust to perch on it. And they will just gladly hang out there. :3

I love, love, LOVE dragonflies!!!! They are my favorite insect of all time. In the 2000s and the 2010s, I took many pictures of dragonflies in my backyard. They are gorgeous creatures and beneficial to the environment.

This is so great! THANK YOU for this wonderful and fascinating video.

Dragonflies are totally boss.

I was on a kayak trip heading down the Wisconsin river. It was hot and full of mosquitos. Within a few minutes of getting eaten alive, the dragonflies appeared. I felt and heard them near my ears as they feasted on mosquitos. It was quite an experience!

My Nigerian brothers doing SCIENCE!. much love from Home

This is just fabulous, thankyou so much for a well told story and a chance to meet some seriously cool people. I never realised dragonflies had all this going on :)

I love dragonflies. I live by the woods where there are quite a few flying pest insects. During the summer there are always dragonflies hanging out in my backyard going after the other bugs.

Love it! I want to bug out and I’m stoked on dragonflies ❤❤❤ great video. And vibes❤

These two minds are awesome glad to hear them

Absolutely facinating!! Worthy of a multi episode series!

Amazing how the most sophisticted and complex flyer in the earths history came into existence suddenly without any transition or evolving taking place and are in fact essentially the same today lack the size.

Simply the best. Better than all the rest. ✨

they are by far the most adaptable predators known

I loved watching them hunt mosquitoes from my second story balcony, as they were always about that height. Fascinating creatures.

I've mostly seen "perchers" on land, but then on this pond behind where I used to live, I saw them fly or hover. But I thought they were both the same insect. Thanks for this cool info!

Living by Deer point Lake Fl. I noticed on summer day I think afternoon a few years ago I was cutting the grass that I let go too long and was quite tall, this action cause a bunch of small flying insects to fly off the grass area. With in 1 or 2 min. there were a few the more and more till there were many Dragonfly's coming in to feast on these insects. I had see sea gulls adapt to modern man made phenomenon like following tug boats on the Miami River (where I lived on a boat for a while) and these knew and took advantage of the fact that the river waters and bottom got churned up by the big props of the tug boats and this caused mullet and other small bait fish to come to the top and in addition jump out and back into the water in what appeared to be an effort to clear their gills for sand and bottom muck. This birds made a feast of this, which makes me think how did the dragonfly's find my spot and do they communicate or did others near by saw the commotion and join in???

They should have mentioned that the very best thing about studying dragon-flies is that you always have to be near fresh water; so life is abundant there. It is obviously a nice place for humans as well. One more thing. Dragon-flies never mess with people.

When i was a child, the term for a "dragonfly" here in the South, was "mosquito hawk". I rarely hear that term used in this day and age.

It's fascinating to learn how people who are dedicated to their work become so enamored. Did you have a "magic moment" as a kid when you decided it was going to be dragonflies? I love them because they're flying sculptures, art on the wing, on the wind. Thanks for your work.

Dragonfly's seem almost friendly or intelligent. I wonder what communication could be like.

As much as I love Dragonflies, I have to thank you for introducing me to Red-winged Blackbirds @8:25 Love birds, too.

In the summer of 2023 I was living just West of Beloit, Wi and happened to look toward the wild portion of our yard [ about 2 acres] and saw at least 3 or 400 dragon flies. We are at least 1 mile away from any water but the swarm was there for about 15 minutes and then continued their journey to wherever.

Awesome work Dr. Ware!! 🙌

The nymph stage is interesting also.

My favorite insect. Absolutely amazing creatures.

Great show! Super interesting and well produced!

She’s amazing! And thank you to both/everyone doing this work.

One of the ancient names for Japan was Akitsushima, meaning Dragonfly Island. This is one of the first recorded names for the region, mentioned in the Kojiki. Where I'm working in Vietnam the local lore is that if the dragonflies are flying low to the ground it will rain soon.

Excellent episode an d information,Thanks for sharing

I have LOVED dragonflies since I was a toddler visiting my grandfather by the lake. I had never seen such a wonderous creature! It reminded me of a biplane.

Excellent. Enjoyed immensely. Photography beyond excellent.

Funny that she mentioned that story of a dragonfly chasing away something near her. I had a red wasp trying to attack me the other day as i was sitting down (i'm very allergic to them), and i had a dragonfly come chase it away multiple times, and then would come land on the table each time right in front of me and facing me as if it was saying "i got you bro, no worries", lol.

Wonderful video. I've always loved dragonflies. I learned a lot from this. Thank you.

They're dragons, and they're flies!

I was kayaking once, and this female dragonfly got down into my boat where she tried to oviposit in my bare leg numerous times. Interesting feeling.